Ya Libnan

Geagea: Lebanon was better off without a cabinet

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Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Wednesday during a press conference at his residence in Maarab that, lebanon was better off than the newly-formed cabinet, in its current shape which he called it ” dangerous for Lebanon” and does not represent the Lebanese people.

“It would have been better for Lebanon to remain without a cabinet rather than having a controlled cabinet dating back to the Stone Age,” he said in reference to Hezbollah and its backers Syria and Iran

“This cabinet is contradictory to what is happening in the region; it puts Lebanon outside the Arab countries’ bloc.”

The LF leader criticized members of the new cabinet, saying that Health Minister “Ali Hassan Khalil is a good politician, but not qualified to replace a successful doctor,” a reference to former Health Minister Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh.

He added that Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas who should have been kept in his previous post in the Telecommunications Ministry “if he succeeded or removed from the cabinet if he didn’t.”

Geagea also said the new cabinet is unconstitutional due to the absence of Sunni representation, adding that Christians are represented by less than half of their political parties.

On the issue of Sunni representation he is meaning Beirut and the Beqaaa region , since most of the Sunni ministers are from Tripoli.

On the issue of Christian representation most of the Christian ministers are from MP Michel Aoun’s FPM which received less than 45 % of THE Christian votes during the last elections.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced the formation of the new Lebanese cabine on Monday after almost five months of deliberations within the March 8 parties.

The Iranian- and Syrian backed Hezbollah brought down PM Saad Hariri’s government on January 12 over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) imminent indictment which is widely expected to implicate Hezbollah members and possibly Syria, in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri in 2005

Mikati was appointed in January as the PM designate with the backing of the Hezbollah March 8 alliance and MPs Walid Jumblatt and Mohammad Safadi . March 14 leaders have repeatedly said that intimidation from Hezbollah’s weapons helped secure the parliamentary majority for Mikati’s nomination and refused to join the government.

Jumblatt and his PSP parliament members reportedly switched allegiance to Hezbollah’s PM candidate, following threats by Hezbollah.

Jumblatt, Mikati and Safadi were all elected on March 14 electoral tickets during the 2009 parliamentary elections.

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124 responses to “Geagea: Lebanon was better off without a cabinet”

  1. eblashko Avatar
    eblashko

    From what I read, I tend to like this guy. I think if I were Lebanese, I would inclined to vote his way.

    1. Mosetsfire Avatar
      Mosetsfire

      Geagea commited some pretty atrocious crimes back in his day, but he paid his dues unlike the others and has now emerged, in my eyes at least, as one of the few true leaders this country has. 

      1. eblashko Avatar
        eblashko

        From what I gather, almost every politician in Lebanon committed some pretty atrocious crimes back then. But he seems to be one of the only ones I see who is trying to move on from the past and looking towards the future and what’s actually best for Lebanon, instead of for his faction. 

      2. Beiruti Avatar
        Beiruti

        The dogs Jumblatt and Berri are responsible for some atrocious crimes to, they should be put in prison just like Geagea.

        1. antar2011 Avatar
          antar2011

          let’s not forget HA too…their victims are pple from their own mazhab.

          but this is all in the past.

          if anyone of these politicians would just put the interest of the country they have been using its resources for ever before their own selfish interests, then everything would be different…to the better.

        2. antar2011 Avatar
          antar2011

          let’s not forget HA too…their victims are pple from their own mazhab.

          but this is all in the past.

          if anyone of these politicians would just put the interest of the country they have been using its resources for ever before their own selfish interests, then everything would be different…to the better.

      3. antar2011 Avatar
        antar2011

        i second that.

        the recent launch of the party’s renewal is a proof that this man has learned a lot of lessons while in prison.

        on another note:
        i have read so many times from hizbollah supporters when making the other compare iran and Israel and always come up with “iran is better then israel’ that’s why we follow it. then they go on and label anyone who does not support iran an israeli agent.

        if someone labels another as an agent of another country, he has to have the following principals in place;
        1- he care so much about his native country and want the best for it in order he can live there as an honoured citizen.
        2- he believes anyone who acts against the interest of the pple in his native country would have committed treason.
        these two points are non existence for hizbollah supporters because of hizbollah’s association with syria and iran.

        so really hizbollah supporters should think first before spitting out israeli agent american agent here and there, left and right, they should be prepared to hear the other labeling them as irani/syrian agent at the same time.

        and no there is no such thing as iran is better then israel…they are both non lebanese i.e foreigners, they are both have their own interests which are definetly not that of the lebanese pple.

        the means do n ot justify the ends… at least that’s what islam that Hizbollah claims he follows says…. the means hizbollah has taken up to justify his goal is among anything….unislamic.

      4. antar2011 Avatar
        antar2011

        i second that.

        the recent launch of the party’s renewal is a proof that this man has learned a lot of lessons while in prison.

        on another note:
        i have read so many times from hizbollah supporters when making the other compare iran and Israel and always come up with “iran is better then israel’ that’s why we follow it. then they go on and label anyone who does not support iran an israeli agent.

        if someone labels another as an agent of another country, he has to have the following principals in place;
        1- he care so much about his native country and want the best for it in order he can live there as an honoured citizen.
        2- he believes anyone who acts against the interest of the pple in his native country would have committed treason.
        these two points are non existence for hizbollah supporters because of hizbollah’s association with syria and iran.

        so really hizbollah supporters should think first before spitting out israeli agent american agent here and there, left and right, they should be prepared to hear the other labeling them as irani/syrian agent at the same time.

        and no there is no such thing as iran is better then israel…they are both non lebanese i.e foreigners, they are both have their own interests which are definetly not that of the lebanese pple.

        the means do n ot justify the ends… at least that’s what islam that Hizbollah claims he follows says…. the means hizbollah has taken up to justify his goal is among anything….unislamic.

      5. PROPHET.T Avatar
        PROPHET.T

        M@M, Paying  his  dues by  spending  10  years  in  jail does not  bring back  any  of his  victims. Others  should be  punished , not  only  by  spending time  in jail, but rather by  being  eliminated  from  public  life  all together. None of these criminal warlords should be   in public or political life. It is a shame that most Lebanese people worship these criminal warlords as “great” or “true leaders”. The day  we  eliminate   sectarian leaders and  warlords  from political  life, is the day  we  have opportunities to reform and rebuild  Lebanon as a modern ,democratic  country.

      6. PROPHET.T Avatar
        PROPHET.T

        M@M, Paying  his  dues by  spending  10  years  in  jail does not  bring back  any  of his  victims. Others  should be  punished , not  only  by  spending time  in jail, but rather by  being  eliminated  from  public  life  all together. None of these criminal warlords should be   in public or political life. It is a shame that most Lebanese people worship these criminal warlords as “great” or “true leaders”. The day  we  eliminate   sectarian leaders and  warlords  from political  life, is the day  we  have opportunities to reform and rebuild  Lebanon as a modern ,democratic  country.

    2. libnan1 Avatar
      libnan1

      You back stabbed him, ask your prime minster. His big problem was he aligned himself with you 30 years ago. 

      1. eblashko Avatar
        eblashko

        First of all, “I” didn’t do anything. I wasn’t even born yet.  And I’ve also said on this site before that I apologize on behalf of my country for everything we did wrong to Lebanon during the civil war (and in 2006). The way we treated our Lebanese allies during the war was a stain of shame on my nation’s history.

        As far as asking my prime minister, he was working at the Israeli Embassy in the USA from 1982 until 1988. Perhaps you mean Sharon? (I don’t think anyone will be asking him anything anymore).

        I have to admit I’m a bit confused as to the whole course of the civil war. Every time I try to learn about it I just get so confused. So many different players. So much backstabbing. All I know is that we were very close to peace and then the whole thing came tumbling down when Gemayal was killed by a Palestinian.

        Have you ever seen “Waltz with Bashir”? It’s a very apologetic Israeli movie about the war that was nominated for an oscar. It’s really good. It has a very strong anti-war message. I know that Israeli movies are illegal in Lebanon, but you should try to watch it if you have the time. Maybe download it or it’s also in parts on youtube (although the quality is bad). My father fought in Lebanon in 1982. Many of his friends died. I’ve never seen him cry in my life, but when he watched the movie it made him cry like a baby, like I’ve never seen. I’d be very curious to see what a Lebanese person thinks of it… especially one that was alive for the war.

        1. Beiruti Avatar
          Beiruti

          I watched that film i was able to get a pirated copy in Lebanon, probably the best movie of 2008 im not going to lie and should have won more oscars. I was shedding a lot of tears at the end of that film it gave me a lot of goosebumps.It those types of movies that wont leave your thoughts for a good 2 weeks. Werent you touched by the ending of that movie? Anyways i respect the Israelis for making a movie condemning their own crimes that the portrayed in the past, something that Syria and Iran both wont do in ten million years. 

        2. Sussy09 Avatar
          Sussy09

          If you want to apologize on your behalf for ‘everything we did wrong to Lebanon..’, go right ahead and do it. but please don’t apologize on my behalf, or on Israel’s behalf, is just not right!!
          If you think going on an ‘apology tour’ here, or anywhere, would gain you more respect as a Jew or an Israeli, i have news for you, it absolutely wont!!
          I’ve been reading and commenting for years on many Arab news sites, and blogs around the net, and NEVER, have i read a comment written by an Arab, anywhere , that apologized for what the Arabs did and still do to Israel, or Jews for that matter. as an Israeli, and i’m assuming a proud one, I imagine you well know, how such attitude could play into the hands of the ones who want to harm us. Does the name Richard Goldston ring a bell?? Do you remember the wave of Antisemitism that came out after his infamous report?? I urge you not to make such foolish and unnecessary statements.
          Now, unlike you, i was born before you were, and i lived through the times. they are still vivid in my mind. i remember them as if they were yesterday, as i also remember with overwhelming pain, the day, i was notified my beloved family member, was killed in the bombing of the Zor building. Please don’t apologize on his behalf either.

        3. eblashko Avatar
          eblashko

          @Sussy09:disqus

          Sussy, if you’re writing on this site, I guess it means that you have some hope for peace with our neighbors. Just because the Arabs haven’t apologized doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t when we did something wrong. I mean, for 2006, what about the Winograd report after the war. We DID do something wrong and we judged ourselves for it. Halutz and Peretz were forced to quit. If we were going in, we should have at least taken out Hezbollah once and for all. But we didn’t. We just ruined the lives and many innocent people, and then left without achieving anything.

          I’m not saying we started it, obviously Hezbollah did, but I am saying that thousands of innocent Lebanese were killed, and in the end, we accomplished nothing from the fighting except turning many Christian Lebanese against us, and had to return that child-killing animal Samir Kuntar to get back the bodies of our soldiers.

          And during the civil war, I’m not apologizing because we were there fighting, (the PLO gave us no choice), but I’m apologizing because we totally abandoned our Lebanese allies. I live in Haifa. Many Lebanese live near me who had to flee their homes because we stopped protecting them. That is not how you should treat your allies. I think the unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon was a huge mistake. If Barak had one shred of decency, he would have conditioned the withdrawal on safeguards for the SLA, or on Hezbollah’s disarming.

          Goldstone did exactly the same thing we did with the Winograd report. The only difference is that Gaza and Lebanon are not the same thing. We weren’t responding just to 2 kidnapped miuimniks. We were responding to 8,000 rockets. I will never apologize for our operation in Gaza. I only regret that we didn’t finish the job.

          I love Israel more than anything as I’m sure you do too. Of course I blame the Arabs for starting and perpetuating the conflict. But Lebanon is different. Half of Lebanese don’t even consider themselves Arabs. Lebanon was the only Arab state that didn’t kick out it’s Jews following the creation of our country. Lebanon didn’t declare war on us in 1967 or 1973, resisting pressure from Egypt. And the SLA and Phalangot were the only Arab allies we ever had, who were willing to accept us.

          This guy above, Geagea, apologized for things he did during their civil war, and now he is a pretty respected politician. The Nazis apologized and now we have great relations with Germany. When those Israeli schoolgirls were killed  in the 90’s on the Jordan border by that insane border guard and King Hussein personally came to the funeral and apologized on behalf of all Jordanians… you’re going to tell me that didn’t make a difference.

        4. eblashko Avatar
          eblashko

          @Sussy09:disqus

          Sussy, if you’re writing on this site, I guess it means that you have some hope for peace with our neighbors. Just because the Arabs haven’t apologized doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t when we did something wrong. I mean, for 2006, what about the Winograd report after the war. We DID do something wrong and we judged ourselves for it. Halutz and Peretz were forced to quit. If we were going in, we should have at least taken out Hezbollah once and for all. But we didn’t. We just ruined the lives and many innocent people, and then left without achieving anything.

          I’m not saying we started it, obviously Hezbollah did, but I am saying that thousands of innocent Lebanese were killed, and in the end, we accomplished nothing from the fighting except turning many Christian Lebanese against us, and had to return that child-killing animal Samir Kuntar to get back the bodies of our soldiers.

          And during the civil war, I’m not apologizing because we were there fighting, (the PLO gave us no choice), but I’m apologizing because we totally abandoned our Lebanese allies. I live in Haifa. Many Lebanese live near me who had to flee their homes because we stopped protecting them. That is not how you should treat your allies. I think the unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon was a huge mistake. If Barak had one shred of decency, he would have conditioned the withdrawal on safeguards for the SLA, or on Hezbollah’s disarming.

          Goldstone did exactly the same thing we did with the Winograd report. The only difference is that Gaza and Lebanon are not the same thing. We weren’t responding just to 2 kidnapped miuimniks. We were responding to 8,000 rockets. I will never apologize for our operation in Gaza. I only regret that we didn’t finish the job.

          I love Israel more than anything as I’m sure you do too. Of course I blame the Arabs for starting and perpetuating the conflict. But Lebanon is different. Half of Lebanese don’t even consider themselves Arabs. Lebanon was the only Arab state that didn’t kick out it’s Jews following the creation of our country. Lebanon didn’t declare war on us in 1967 or 1973, resisting pressure from Egypt. And the SLA and Phalangot were the only Arab allies we ever had, who were willing to accept us.

          This guy above, Geagea, apologized for things he did during their civil war, and now he is a pretty respected politician. The Nazis apologized and now we have great relations with Germany. When those Israeli schoolgirls were killed  in the 90’s on the Jordan border by that insane border guard and King Hussein personally came to the funeral and apologized on behalf of all Jordanians… you’re going to tell me that didn’t make a difference.

        5. Sussy09 Avatar
          Sussy09

          My reason for writing on this site, among many other sites, is to exchange ideas, opinions and have debates. my goal is not to make friends, or make peace, nor change people’s minds. I wish it was that simple. However, I still maintain that, we should not apologize for wars that were imposed on us, whether they resulted in so few, or so many deaths. you and i both know, the IDF NEVER, BUT NEVER, (Yes, i was a soldier too..) targets civilians, and that civilians casualties in most cases came as a result of coward thugs, IE Terrorists, in both Lebanon and Gaza, choosing to hide behind women’s skirts and children, hiding in schools and hospitals, in Ambulances, in U.N. food storage facilities, and the list goes on and on,  in order to save their own asses. And In other cases, we all know, That, where there’s a war, mistakes do happen!
          While Israel has been conducting probes and investigations about, just about any bullet or a bomb aimed at our Enemies by the IDF, and always, but always, in our defense, be it  Winograd , the counter Goldston report, oh, and let’s not forget the very recent ‘Flotilla’ report as well, I NEVER heard of an investigation, a probe or a Report, The Arabs did, or were contemplating doing etc.,  and the most disturbing thing to me is, Their constituency, never ever demanded it of their leaders. you can say , they can’t do it in Gaza, and i say, They voted Hamas in the government in  democratic Elections, knowing, their rule , would give them the farthest possible thing from a Democracy. But now, what about the Lebanese people? why were they silent? watching a group of thugs, proxies of a foreign country, IE Iran, fighting on their soil, causing so much death and destruction, to a large and for the most part innocent population,  of south Lebanon, on behalf of Iran’s destructive and provocative agenda.  And we all know what this agenda is..
          Yes, I agree we could have done more for the SLA, and that they were our allies etc., but look, many of them live in Israel, and many live here too in the U.S., and guess what, the first SLA ex fighter i met, through himself at me with cheers of happiness and excitement , hugged and kissed me , and would kiss my feet too only if i let him. He said, You are the first Israeli i ever met, and I LOVE YOU!
          then , he preceded to tell me many many stories, from back in the days, so , that’s how i became familiar with Geagea, for the first time.
          Now, with all the respect i have,  for the Lebanese people, i don’t think i should ‘like’ them more, because they ‘didn’t kick us out’ after 1948, nor should i ‘like’ them more for ‘willing to accept us’. I can’t understand how in your mind, this is not a given. we accept them, don’t we??  they are just a drop in the ocean, of a very  very hostile Arab world, towards Israel, and towards Jews wherever they might be,  (and yes, Lebanese are Arabs, it’s just a fact, even if some decide to call themselves something else, BTW – ‘Arab’ is not a ‘dirty word’..)
          btw,  the comparison to the Nazis apologizing, (you must mean the Germans) is uncalled for, and is beyond appalling ..
          Now let’s talk real here. we all know, that If the Arab countries around us, whole heartily, would accept our existence, in the state of Israel , side by side next to them, as we accept them, and as we yearn so much for years, to have Peace with them, All of them,  there will be peace!!
          As the saying goes, :”When the Arabs will lay down their arms, there will be Peace. When Israel will lay down her arms, there will be no Israel”
          I believe the time will come, but first we need to see what the ME is going to look like, after the ‘ARAB SPRING’, only time will tell.

    3. Michael Avatar
      Michael

      Hes one of your own why wouldnt you vote for him…

      1. Beiruti Avatar
        Beiruti

        Stop relating it to the Civil War, so annoying. Allying with Israel was just as bad as allying with Iran, so dont be so hypocritical here.

        1. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          Beiruti,

          All i was doing was commenting on eblashkos comment,he is israeli and stated

          he would vote for geagea if he had a vote,did i say something wrong by insuing that

          yes he worked for you guys,and was on the israeli payroll,and most israelies, would

          vote for geagea cause he is against HA,so i dont think your comment warranted any negative

          response….it was a true statement and a fact…all israelies that are against HA will support

          geagea and would vote for him, he does israels work inside of Lebanon…he is a cancer,and a very

          destructive man,and all our problems as of late have happened since this tumor has gotten out

          of jail, i dont like him and never have…and its a shame that some christians still respect this man after

          his horrendous history that involved murder,blackmail,and being a traitor….what a shame..

        2. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          Beiruti,

          All i was doing was commenting on eblashkos comment,he is israeli and stated

          he would vote for geagea if he had a vote,did i say something wrong by insuing that

          yes he worked for you guys,and was on the israeli payroll,and most israelies, would

          vote for geagea cause he is against HA,so i dont think your comment warranted any negative

          response….it was a true statement and a fact…all israelies that are against HA will support

          geagea and would vote for him, he does israels work inside of Lebanon…he is a cancer,and a very

          destructive man,and all our problems as of late have happened since this tumor has gotten out

          of jail, i dont like him and never have…and its a shame that some christians still respect this man after

          his horrendous history that involved murder,blackmail,and being a traitor….what a shame..

        3. Leborigine Avatar
          Leborigine

          Beiruti,

          All my life until now, I always thought that the alliance of the LF with israel was a bad thing, or to be more precise, the alliance of Al marhoom Bashir with israel was a bad thing, it wasn’t, and any supporter of the LF should not apologise for it either. At least Bashir Gemayel stood for his country and rejected any condition that israel may have given him to continue that alliance, unlike all the leaders of today who are selling their souls to the devil.
          On top of that Bashir did not have a choice and he needed to survive, who did he have around him to support him, no one but israel. The PLO, PSP, Amal, Murabitoon, SSNP, Baath all alligned with regional powers (which of course is halal)wanted a piece of him, and expected Bashir to sit there and do nothing about it!! What a load of hogwash.
          Its like a muslim or a jew stuck in a desert and there is nothing to eat but hogs. Would you starve to death or would you eat an animal forbidden by the good books?? An educated person would eat to survive.
          All i keep hearing here is the LF did this and LF did that and no one else in Lebanon did anything, mind you, I am not a LF supporter either, but I agree with you that eveyone here stop relating to the past and everyone is equally guilty.
          No one did more damage than the other.

      2. Beiruti Avatar
        Beiruti

        Yeah please, because Geagea releases statements supporting Israel and asking for peace with them and are telling the Lebanese to kiss Israels ass. Geagea serves the Lebanese in todays Lebanon, Nasrallah wipes those Farsi asses, so please shut up with your hypocrisy. I find it funny how you compare all the parties crimes of the past to justify the crimes of the parties you support in the present. Like this is how you work,for example ill say that “Hezbollah killed 93 people in Beirut in 2008 and are bunch of drug dealers”, and youll respond “so what? Phalange killed Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila”. Stop relating everything to the past and move on, you dont hear Americans in their online debates saying “Confederates” this and “Union” that. The fact is we want a good future for our kids like any decent Lebanese with a family and children, we already lived a civil war and lost my childhood and adulthood because of it. I dont need these Hezbollah arms to screw up the future of my kids either. The day Hezbollah give their arms and Syria and Iran 100% buzz of from our country, i swear to God i wont post another comment on this site, but as off today it looks like im gonna be on this site forever.

        1. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          Do you trust Israel that much bro…that if HA didnt have weapons do you think they wouldnt be in

          lebanon right now? im asking you this as a serious question,not as a smart ass…please answer…

        2. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          so to your conclusion,

          all lebanons problems today are from HA,so if there is no HA your saying lebanon

          would be amazing?

      3. Beiruti Avatar
        Beiruti

        Once again maybe if you my previous posts you would understand, i used to be a fan of HA when they protected Lebanon from the Israelis and managed to kick them out in 2000. Repeating the same thing 2006, i still respected them but was a little frustrated with them. In 2008 I became disgusted with them and how they backstabbed the Lebanese.

        Do i trust Israel? No.
        Without HA weapons would Israel be in Lebanon? Yes.
        I answered both of your questions.
        None the less i trust Israel more than Iran but a lot.
        Are you honestly going to bullshit me in my face that the current HA weapons are to protect us from the Zionist enemy? They already kicked them out. Tell me then why does HA have weapons in the North? 
        And yes i am saying nowadays HA is a cancer to the Lebanese. Geagea does Israels work inside of Lebanon? Can you please show me that evidence please and thanks cause i think these facts come from the up of your ass.
        Israel gave weapons to the Iranians from 1980-1988 and performed many secret deals, yet its only being a traitor when the Phalangists received weapons from Israel? 
        A shame that Christians still respect this man? I find it shameful that Christians still respect Aoun. And i find it shameful you put Iran before Lebanon. Geagea did his time, not any other Lebanese. All the shit you support should be in prison right now.

        1. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          Beiruti,

          Thank you for your answers,but why not speak to me like your fellow lebanese brother,

          I did not insult you call you a name or use any foul language when i debated with you or

          asked you honest questions to get your views…thats the problem with Lebanese,we lost the value

          of communication,If i dont like geagea that doesnt mean you speak to me that way,the same way you

          dont share my political views I would have no reason to attack you or insult you personally,I appreciate

          you answering the questions,and at the end were still family,im not just saying that..all I ask is try to show

          me the same respect I show you…If I attack you personally than feel free to do what you like..but i havent and

          i wont…good day bro..

        2. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          Beiruti,

          Thank you for your answers,but why not speak to me like your fellow lebanese brother,

          I did not insult you call you a name or use any foul language when i debated with you or

          asked you honest questions to get your views…thats the problem with Lebanese,we lost the value

          of communication,If i dont like geagea that doesnt mean you speak to me that way,the same way you

          dont share my political views I would have no reason to attack you or insult you personally,I appreciate

          you answering the questions,and at the end were still family,im not just saying that..all I ask is try to show

          me the same respect I show you…If I attack you personally than feel free to do what you like..but i havent and

          i wont…good day bro..

      4. eblashko Avatar
        eblashko

        in response to your post below:

        “Do you trust Israel that much bro…that if HA didnt have weapons do you think they wouldnt be in

        lebanon right now? im asking you this as a serious question,not as a smart ass…please answer… ”

        Absolutely Not! Israel has no business in Lebanon and never had a desire to conquer it or control it the way Syria did. We were there, in the first place, because the Palestinians were using it as a base to attack civilians in northern Israel. There’s a reason the Israeli invasion of Lebanon was called “operation peace for the Galilee”. And further proof that we had no desire to stay in Lebanon was that unlike Sinai, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan, there was never even one settlement on Lebanese land.

        The reason why Israel stayed in Lebanon after the PLO left was to counter balance the Syrian occupation and to protect our allies in Lebanon (something we shamefully failed at). The proof is that the May 1983 peace agreement, which unfortunately eventually got shelved, conditioned peace on the withdrawal of both Israeli and Syrian forces. Syria is gone from Lebanon now. And so are we. There is absolutely no reason for HA to stay armed.

        Now I have three questions for all of you…

        First: If an Israeli prime minister offered to cede the Sheba farms and to demilitarize the entire upper galilee in exchange for total peace, the disarming of HA (giving weapons to the Lebanese Army), and the demilitarization of everything south of the Litani, would the Lebanese people accept? Would HA accept?

        Next question… If there was no Iran revolution in 1979, and they never sent their commandos to Lebanon in the form of Hezbollah, how do you think the war would have played out?

        Last… If Israel stayed in Lebanon another few years until the Cedar Revolution, and Syria and Israel left at the same time, do you think the 2006 War would have ever happened?

        1. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          eblashko,

          “First: If an Israeli prime minister offered to cede the Sheba farms and to demilitarize the entire upper galilee in exchange for total peace, the disarming of HA (giving weapons to the Lebanese Army), and the demilitarization of everything south of the Litani, would the Lebanese people accept? Would HA accept?”

          – To answer this question, I would say absolutly 100 percent they would,they have made similar offers in the
          past and that was when they were discussing the defense strategy a couple years ago,and then they would
          be brought under the wing of the army and used for there defense,lets put it this way if that happened and they
          did not accept the offer they would lose alot of support internally..

          “Next question… If there was no Iran revolution in 1979, and they never sent their commandos to Lebanon in the form of Hezbollah, how do you think the war would have played out? ”

          – This one is a very tough question,when playing the “what if” game,you can really almost bring that to so many
          questions that it will drive you crazy,the way history works is the way the present is shaped, but if there was no
          revolution in Iran and they did not come to the aid in Lebanon,I truly beleive Israel wouldve used south lebanon to dump
          the rest of the palestinan people there,and I think south Lebanon as we know it today would be the largest refugee
          camp in the world,the israleis relate to some religous text that states what is called a “greater Israel” so I believe
          they would love to control the land from Israel through Lebanon to Syria….

          “Last… If Israel stayed in Lebanon another few years until the Cedar Revolution, and Syria and Israel left at the same time, do you think the 2006 War would have ever happened”

          -When the invasion of 1948 happened what was the pretext for that war,wheter you think its right or wrong,
          there was a pretext for the invasion,so I will say yes on the basis that israel never needed a reason to invade
          any country except the reason it created,and I will say no,cause if the isralies were there from 1982-2005,they
          wouldve established enough lebanese networks and spies and set up basis around the country that there will
          be no need for a war,a war is used when you feel that you cant run a part of the region with the tactics that you
          choose,and when another group or nation decide your tactics are not acceptable than war is brought into the equation
          for one reason,as a form to flex your muscles and say you will do what we want..

          Anyway good questions,I answer these as my own opinions and views,Good Day…

        2. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          eblashko,

          “First: If an Israeli prime minister offered to cede the Sheba farms and to demilitarize the entire upper galilee in exchange for total peace, the disarming of HA (giving weapons to the Lebanese Army), and the demilitarization of everything south of the Litani, would the Lebanese people accept? Would HA accept?”

          – To answer this question, I would say absolutly 100 percent they would,they have made similar offers in the
          past and that was when they were discussing the defense strategy a couple years ago,and then they would
          be brought under the wing of the army and used for there defense,lets put it this way if that happened and they
          did not accept the offer they would lose alot of support internally..

          “Next question… If there was no Iran revolution in 1979, and they never sent their commandos to Lebanon in the form of Hezbollah, how do you think the war would have played out? ”

          – This one is a very tough question,when playing the “what if” game,you can really almost bring that to so many
          questions that it will drive you crazy,the way history works is the way the present is shaped, but if there was no
          revolution in Iran and they did not come to the aid in Lebanon,I truly beleive Israel wouldve used south lebanon to dump
          the rest of the palestinan people there,and I think south Lebanon as we know it today would be the largest refugee
          camp in the world,the israleis relate to some religous text that states what is called a “greater Israel” so I believe
          they would love to control the land from Israel through Lebanon to Syria….

          “Last… If Israel stayed in Lebanon another few years until the Cedar Revolution, and Syria and Israel left at the same time, do you think the 2006 War would have ever happened”

          -When the invasion of 1948 happened what was the pretext for that war,wheter you think its right or wrong,
          there was a pretext for the invasion,so I will say yes on the basis that israel never needed a reason to invade
          any country except the reason it created,and I will say no,cause if the isralies were there from 1982-2005,they
          wouldve established enough lebanese networks and spies and set up basis around the country that there will
          be no need for a war,a war is used when you feel that you cant run a part of the region with the tactics that you
          choose,and when another group or nation decide your tactics are not acceptable than war is brought into the equation
          for one reason,as a form to flex your muscles and say you will do what we want..

          Anyway good questions,I answer these as my own opinions and views,Good Day…

      5. eblashko Avatar
        eblashko

        Thanks for your answers.

        I just want to clear some things us about this idea of “Greater Israel” that keeps getting talked about. Most Israelis don’t favor “greater Israel”, which is why we’ve agreed to every partition of the land that we’ve ever been offered (1936, 1947, 1967, 2000). Also, “Greater Israel” refers only to Israel and the West Bank, and NOT to Lebanon. Many definitions make up greater Israel, but none of them include S. Lebanon.

        The main definition of Greater Israel  is “from Dan to Be’er Sheva”, which ancient cities and are both within our borders today, which means we have no claim on anyone else except the West Bank (which lies in between them). This claim is found in the Biblical verses Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 3:20, 2 Samuel 3:10, 2 Samuel 17:11, 2 Samuel 24:2, 2 Samuel 24:15, 1 Kings 4:25, 1 Chronicles 21:2, and 2 Chronicles 30:5.

        Another controversial definition is that God gave us everything between the river and the sea. Most anti-Zionists claim that it means the Euphrates River, but it only means the Jordan river. The proof is that Moses died on the other side of the Jordan, and is considered to have never entered Israel.

        The proof that S. Lebanon is not included is that Hiram, the King of Tyre, was a ally of David and Solomon. According to the Torah, they were kings in totally equal standing. Being as the Kingdom of Israel reached its greatest height under Solomon, if Tyre was a separate kingdom, then S. Lebanon must not have been part of even the “greatest” Israel. 

        The Bible says that King Hiram allied himself with King David of the United Kingdom of Israel as well as that the status of both Kings was equal and that the treaty between them was a parity treaty (2 Samuel 05:11, 1 Kings 05:01, 1 Chronicles 14:01). After the death of King David, Solomon, a son of David, succeeded to David’s throne and Hiram continued the relation with Israel. They were also equal (“אחי”, meaning “brothers” 1 Kings 9:13, Amos 1:9)

        I also don’t want you to think that by citing the bible, I’m in any way religious. I’m just saying that even in our religious texts, Lebanon is not part of greater Israel. Maybe you can relax a little now.

  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    From what I read, I tend to like this guy. I think if I were Lebanese, I would inclined to vote his way.

    1. Mohamad Masri Avatar
      Mohamad Masri

      Geagea commited some pretty atrocious crimes back in his day, but he paid his dues unlike the others and has now emerged, in my eyes at least, as one of the few true leaders this country has. 

    2. Mohamad Masri Avatar
      Mohamad Masri

      Geagea commited some pretty atrocious crimes back in his day, but he paid his dues unlike the others and has now emerged, in my eyes at least, as one of the few true leaders this country has. 

      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        From what I gather, almost every politician in Lebanon committed some pretty atrocious crimes back then. But he seems to be one of the only ones I see who is trying to move on from the past and looking towards the future and what’s actually best for Lebanon, instead of for his faction. 

      2. Avatar
        Anonymous

        From what I gather, almost every politician in Lebanon committed some pretty atrocious crimes back then. But he seems to be one of the only ones I see who is trying to move on from the past and looking towards the future and what’s actually best for Lebanon, instead of for his faction. 

      3. Avatar
        Anonymous

        From what I gather, almost every politician in Lebanon committed some pretty atrocious crimes back then. But he seems to be one of the only ones I see who is trying to move on from the past and looking towards the future and what’s actually best for Lebanon, instead of for his faction. 

      4. Avatar
        Anonymous

        The dogs Jumblatt and Berri are responsible for some atrocious crimes to, they should be put in prison just like Geagea.

        1. Avatar
          Anonymous

          let’s not forget HA too…their victims are pple from their own mazhab.

          but this is all in the past.

          if anyone of these politicians would just put the interest of the country they have been using its resources for ever before their own selfish interests, then everything would be different…to the better.

      5. Avatar
        Anonymous

        i second that

      6. Avatar
        Anonymous

        i second that

      7. PROPHET.T Avatar
        PROPHET.T

        M@M, Paying  his  dues by  spending  10  years  in  jail does not  bring back  any  of his  victims. Others  should be  punished , not  only  by  spending time  in jail, but rather by  being  eliminated  from  public  life  all together. None of these criminal warlords should be   in public or political life. It is a shame that most Lebanese people worship these warlords’ criminals as great or true   leaders. The day  we  eliminate   sectarian  and  warlords  from  or political  life, is the day  we  have opportunities to reform and rebuild  Lebanon as a modern ,democratic  country.

    3. Avatar
      Anonymous

      You back stabbed him, ask your prime minster. His big problem was he aligned himself with you 30 years ago. 

    4. Avatar
      Anonymous

      You back stabbed him, ask your prime minster. His big problem was he aligned himself with you 30 years ago. 

      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        First of all, “I” didn’t do anything. I wasn’t even born yet.  And I’ve also said on this site before that I apologize on behalf of my country for everything we did wrong to Lebanon during the civil war (and in 2006).

        I have to admit I’m a bit confused as to the whole course of the civil war. Every time I try to learn about it I just get so confused. So many different players. So much backstabbing. All I know is that we were very close to peace and then the whole thing came tumbling down when Gemayal was killed by a Palestinian.

        Have you ever seen “Waltz with Bashir”? It’s an animated Israeli movie about the war that was nominated for an oscar. It’s really good. It has a very strong anti-war message. I know that Israeli movies are illegal in Lebanon, but you should try to watch it. Maybe download it or something. My father fought in Lebanon in 1982. Many of his friends died. I’ve never seen him cry in my life, but when he watched the movie it made him cry like a baby, like I’ve never seen. I’d be very curious to see what a Lebanese person thinks of it… especially one that was alive for the war.

        1. Avatar
          Anonymous

          I watched that film i was able to get a pirated copy in Lebanon, probably the best movie of 2008 im not going to lie and should have won more oscars. I was shedding a lot of tears at the end of that film it gave me a lot of goosebumps.It those types of movies that wont leave your thoughts for a good 2 weeks. Werent you touched by the ending of that movie? Anyways i respect the Israelis for making a movie condemning their own crimes that the portrayed in the past, something that Syria and Iran both wont do in ten million years. 

        2. Avatar
          Anonymous

          If you want to apologize on your behalf for ‘everything we did wrong to Lebanon..’, go right ahead and do it. but please don’t apologize on my behalf, or on Israel’s behalf, is just not right!!
          If you think going on an ‘apology tour’ here, or anywhere, would gain you more respect as a Jew or an Israeli, i have news for you, it absolutely wont!!
          I’ve been reading and commenting for years on many Arab news sites, and blogs around the net, and NEVER, have i read a comment written by an Arab, anywhere , that apologized for what the Arabs did and still do to Israel, or Jews for that matter. as an Israeli, and i’m assuming a proud one, I imagine you well know, how such attitude could play into the hands of the ones who want to harm us. Does the name Richard Goldston ring a bell?? Do you remember the wave of Antisemitism that came out after his infamous report?? I urge you not to make such foolish and unnecessary statements.
          Now, unlike you, i was born before you were, and i lived through the times. they are still vivid in my mind. i remember them as if they were yesterday, as i also remember with overwhelming pain, the day, i was notified my beloved family member, was killed in the bombing of the Zor building. Please don’t apologize on his behalf either.

        3. Avatar
          Anonymous

          @Sussy09:disqus

          Sussy, if you’re writing on this site, I guess it means that you have some
          hope for peace with our neighbors. Just because the Arabs haven’t apologized doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t when we did something wrong. I mean, for 2006, what about the Winograd report after the war. We DID do something wrong and we judged ourselves for it. Halutz and Peretz were forced to quit. If we were going in, we should have at least taken out Hezbollah once
          and for all. But we didn’t. We just ruined the lives and many innocent
          people, and then left without achieving anything.

          I’m not saying we started it, obviously Hezbollah did, but I am saying that thousands of innocent Lebanese were killed, and in the end, we accomplished nothing from the fighting except turning many Christian Lebanese against us, and had to return that child-killing animal Samir Kuntar to get back the bodies of our soldiers.

          And during the civil war, I’m not apologizing because we were there fighting, (the PLO gave us no choice), but I’m apologizing because we totally abandoned our Lebanese allies. I live in Haifa. Many Lebanese live near me who had to flee their homes because we stopped protecting them. That is not how you should treat your allies. I think the unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon was a huge mistake. If Barak had one shred of decency, he would have conditioned the withdrawal on safeguards for the SLA, or on Hezbollah’s disarming.

          Goldstone did exactly the same thing we did with the Winograd report. The only difference is that Gaza and Lebanon are not the same thing. We weren’t responding just to 2 kidnapped miuimniks. We were responding to 8,000 rockets. I will never apologize for our operation in Gaza. I only regret that we didn’t finish the job.

          I love Israel more than anything as I’m sure you do too. Of course I blame the Arabs for starting and perpetuating the conflict. But Lebanon is different. Half of Lebanese don’t even consider themselves Arabs. Lebanon was the only Arab state that didn’t kick out it’s Jews following the creation of our country. Lebanon didn’t declare war on us in 1967 or 1973, resisting pressure from Egypt. And the SLA and Phalangot were the only Arab allies we ever had, who were willing to accept us.

          This guy above, Geagea, apologized for things he did during their civil
          war, and now he is a pretty respected politician. The Nazis apologized
          and now we have great relations with Germany. When those Israeli
          schoolgirls were killed  in the 90’s on the Jordan border by that insane
          border guard and King Hussein personally came to the funeral and
          apologized on behalf of all Jordanians… you’re going to tell me that
          didn’t make a difference.

        4. Avatar
          Anonymous

          My reason for writing on this site, among many other sites, is to exchange ideas, opinions and have debates. my goal is not to make friends, or make peace, nor change people’s minds. I wish it was that simple. However, I still maintain that, we should not apologize for wars that were imposed on us, whether they resulted in so few, or so many deaths. you and i both know, the IDF NEVER, BUT NEVER, (Yes, i was a soldier too..) targets civilians, and that civilians casualties in most cases came as a result of coward thugs, IE Terrorists, in both Lebanon and Gaza, choosing to hide behind women’s skirts and children, hiding in schools and hospitals, in Ambulances, in U.N. food storage facilities, and the list goes on and on,  in order to save their own asses. And In other cases, we all know, That, where there’s a war, mistakes do happen!
          While Israel has been conducting probes and investigations about, just about any bullet or a bomb aimed at our Enemies by the IDF, and always, but always, in our defense, be it  Winograd , the counter Goldston report, oh, and let’s not forget the very recent ‘Flotilla’ report as well, I NEVER heard of an investigation, a probe or a Report, The Arabs did, or were contemplating doing etc.,  and the most disturbing thing to me is, Their constituency, never ever demanded it of their leaders. you can say , they can’t do it in Gaza, and i say, They voted Hamas in the government in  democratic Elections, knowing, their rule , would give them the farthest possible thing from a Democracy. But now, what about the Lebanese people? why were they silent? watching a group of thugs, proxies of a foreign country, IE Iran, fighting on their soil, causing so much death and destruction, to a large and for the most part innocent population,  of south Lebanon, on behalf of Iran’s destructive and provocative agenda.  And we all know what this agenda is..
          Yes, I agree we could have done more for the SLA, and that they were our allies etc., but look, many of them live in Israel, and many live here too in the U.S., and guess what, the first SLA ex fighter i met, through himself at me with cheers of happiness and excitement , hugged and kissed me , and would kiss my feet too only if i let him. He said, You are the first Israeli i ever met, and I LOVE YOU!
          then , he preceded to tell me many many stories, from back in the days, so , that’s how i became familiar with Geagea, for the first time.
          Now, with all the respect i have,  for the Lebanese people, i don’t think i should ‘like’ them more, because they ‘didn’t kick us out’ after 1948, nor should i ‘like’ them more for ‘willing to accept us’. I can’t understand how in your mind, this is not a given. we accept them, don’t we??  they are just a drop in the ocean, of a very  very hostile Arab world, towards Israel, and towards Jews wherever they might be,  (and yes, Lebanese are Arabs, it’s just a fact, even if some decide to call themselves something else, BTW – ‘Arab’ is not a ‘dirty word’..)
          btw,  the comparison to the Nazis apologizing, (you must mean the Germans) is uncalled for, and is beyond appalling ..
          Now let’s talk real here. we all know, that If the Arab countries around us, whole heartily, would accept our existence, in the state of Israel , side by side next to them, as we accept them, and as we yearn so much for years, to have Peace with them, All of them,  there will be peace!!
          As the saying goes, :”When the Arabs will lay down their arms, there will be Peace. When Israel will lay down her arms, there will be no Israel”
          I believe the time will come, but first we need to see what the ME is going to look like, after the ‘ARAB SPRING’, only time will tell.

    5. Avatar
      Anonymous

      You back stabbed him, ask your prime minster. His big problem was he aligned himself with you 30 years ago. 

    6. Michael Avatar
      Michael

      Hes one of your own why wouldnt you vote for him…

      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        Stop relating it to the Civil War, so annoying. Allying with Israel was just as bad as allying with Iran, so dont be so hypocritical here.

        1. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          Beiruti,

          All i was doing was commenting on eblashkos comment,he is israeli and stated

          he would vote for geagea if he had a vote,did i say something wrong by insuing that

          yes he worked for you guys,and was on the israeli payroll,and most israelies, would

          vote for geagea cause he is against HA,so i dont think your comment warranted any negative

          response….it was a true statement and a fact…all israelies that are against HA will support

          geagea and would vote for him, he does israels work inside of Lebanon…he is a cancer,and a very

          destructive man,and all our problems as of late have happened since this tumor has gotten out

          of jail, i dont like him and never have…and its a shame that some christians still respect this man after

          his horrendous history that involved murder,blackmail,and being a traitor….what a shame..

        2. Avatar
          Anonymous

          Beiruti,

          All my life until now, I always thought that the alliance of the LF with israel was a bad thing, or to be more precise, the alliance of Al marhoom Bashir with israel was a bad thing, it wasn’t, and any supporter of the LF should not apologise for it either. At least Bashir Gemayel stood for his country and rejected any condition that israel may have given him to continue that alliance, unlike all the leaders of today who are selling their souls to the devil.
          On top of that Bashir did not have a choice and he needed to survive, who did he have around him to support him, no one but israel. The PLO, PSP, Amal, Murabitoon, SSNP, Baath all alligned with regional powers (which of course is halal)wanted a piece of him, and expected Bashir to sit there and do nothing about it!! What a load of hogwash.
          Its like a muslim or a jew stuck in a desert and there is nothing to eat but hogs. Would you starve to death or would you eat an animal forbidden by the good books?? An educated person would eat to survive.
          All i keep hearing here is the LF did this and LF did that and no one else in Lebanon did anything, mind you, I am not a LF supporter either, but I agree with you that eveyone here stop relating to the past and everyone is equally guilty.
          No one did more damage than the other.

      2. Avatar
        Anonymous

        Yeah please, because Geagea releases statements supporting Israel and asking for peace with them and are telling the Lebanese to kiss Israels ass. Geagea serves the Lebanese in todays Lebanon, Nasrallah wipes those Farsi asses, so please shut up with your hypocrisy. I find it funny how you compare all the parties crimes of the past to justify the crimes of the parties you support in the present. Like this is how you work,for example ill say that “Hezbollah killed 93 people in Beirut in 2008 and are bunch of drug dealers”, and youll respond “so what? Phalange killed Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila”. Stop relating everything to the past and move on, you dont hear Americans in their online debates saying “Confederates” this and “Union” that. The fact is we want a good future for our kids like any decent Lebanese with a family and children, we already lived a civil war and lost my childhood and adulthood because of it. I dont need these Hezbollah arms to screw up the future of my kids either. The day Hezbollah give their arms and Syria and Iran 100% buzz of from our country, i swear to God i wont post another comment on this site, but as off today it looks like im gonna be on this site forever.

        1. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          Do you trust Israel that much bro…that if HA didnt have weapons do you think they wouldnt be in

          lebanon right now? im asking you this as a serious question,not as a smart ass…please answer…

        2. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          Do you trust Israel that much bro…that if HA didnt have weapons do you think they wouldnt be in

          lebanon right now? im asking you this as a serious question,not as a smart ass…please answer…

        3. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          so to your conclusion,

          all lebanons problems today are from HA,so if there is no HA your saying lebanon

          would be amazing?

      3. Avatar
        Anonymous

        Yeah please, because Geagea releases statements supporting Israel and asking for peace with them and are telling the Lebanese to kiss Israels ass. Geagea serves the Lebanese in todays Lebanon, Nasrallah wipes those Farsi asses, so please shut up with your hypocrisy. I find it funny how you compare all the parties crimes of the past to justify the crimes of the parties you support in the present. Like this is how you work,for example ill say that “Hezbollah killed 93 people in Beirut in 2008 and are bunch of drug dealers”, and youll respond “so what? Phalange killed Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila”. Stop relating everything to the past and move on, you dont hear Americans in their online debates saying “Confederates” this and “Union” that. The fact is we want a good future for our kids like any decent Lebanese with a family and children, we already lived a civil war and lost my childhood and adulthood because of it. I dont need these Hezbollah arms to screw up the future of my kids either. The day Hezbollah give their arms and Syria and Iran 100% buzz of from our country, i swear to God i wont post another comment on this site, but as off today it looks like im gonna be on this site forever.

      4. Avatar
        Anonymous

        Once again maybe if you my previous posts you would understand, i used to be a fan of HA when they protected Lebanon from the Israelis and managed to kick them out in 2000. Repeating the same thing 2006, i still respected them but was a little frustrated with them. In 2008 I became disgusted with them and how they backstabbed the Lebanese.

        Do i trust Israel? No.
        Without HA weapons would Israel be in Lebanon? Yes.
        I answered both of your questions.
        None the less i trust Israel more than Iran but a lot.
        Are you honestly going to bullshit me in my face that the current HA weapons are to protect us from the Zionist enemy? They already kicked them out. Tell me then why does HA have weapons in the North? 
        And yes i am saying nowadays HA is a cancer to the Lebanese. Geagea does Israels work inside of Lebanon? Can you please show me that evidence please and thanks cause i think these facts come from the up of your ass.
        Israel gave weapons to the Iranians from 1980-1988 and performed many secret deals, yet its only being a traitor when the Phalangists received weapons from Israel? 
        A shame that Christians still respect this man? I find it shameful that Christians still respect Aoun. And i find it shameful you put Iran before Lebanon. Geagea did his time, not any other Lebanese. All the shit you support should be in prison right now.

        1. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          Beiruti,

          Thank you for your answers,but why not speak to me like your fellow lebanese brother,

          I did not insult you call you a name or use any foul language when i debated with you or

          asked you honest questions to get your views…thats the problem with Lebanese,we lost the value

          of communication,If i dont like geagea that doesnt mean you speak to me that way,the same way you

          dont share my political views I would have no reason to attack you or insult you personally,I appreciate

          you answering the questions,and at the end were still family,im not just saying that..all I ask is try to show

          me the same respect I show you…If I attack you personally than feel free to do what you like..but i havent and

          i wont…good day bro..

      5. Avatar
        Anonymous

        in response to your post below:

        “Do you trust Israel that much bro…that if HA didnt have weapons do you think they wouldnt be in

        lebanon right now? im asking you this as a serious question,not as a smart ass…please answer… ”

        Absolutely Not! Israel has no business in Lebanon and never had a desire to conquer it or control it the way Syria did. We were there, in the first place, because the Palestinians were using it as a base to attack civilians in northern Israel. There’s a reason the Israeli invasion of Lebanon was called “operation peace for the Galilee”. And further proof that we had no desire to stay in Lebanon was that unlike Sinai, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan, there was never even one settlement on Lebanese land.

        The reason why Israel was occupying in the first place was to counter balance the Syrian occupation and to protect our allies in Lebanon. The proof is that the May 1983 peace agreement, which unfortunately eventually got shelved, conditioned peace on the withdrawal of both Israeli and Syrian forces. Syria is gone from Lebanon now. And so are we. There is absolutely no reason for HA to stay armed.

        Let me ask you all something. If an Israeli prime minister offered to cede the Sheba farms and to demilitarize the entire upper galilee in exchange for total peace, the disarming of HA, and the demilitarization of everything south of the Litani, would the Lebanese people accept? Would HA accept?

        1. Michael Avatar
          Michael

          eblashko,

          “First: If an Israeli prime minister offered to cede the Sheba farms and to demilitarize the entire upper galilee in exchange for total peace, the disarming of HA (giving weapons to the Lebanese Army), and the demilitarization of everything south of the Litani, would the Lebanese people accept? Would HA accept?”

          – To answer this question, I would say absolutly 100 percent they would,they have made similar offers in the
          past and that was when they were discussing the defense strategy a couple years ago,and then they would
          be brought under the wing of the army and used for there defense,lets put it this way if that happened and they
          did not accept the offer they would lose alot of support internally..

          “Next question… If there was no Iran revolution in 1979, and they never sent their commandos to Lebanon in the form of Hezbollah, how do you think the war would have played out? ”

          – This one is a very tough question,when playing the “what if” game,you can really almost bring that to so many
          questions that it will drive you crazy,the way history works is the way the present is shaped, but if there was no
          revolution in Iran and they did not come to the aid in Lebanon,I truly beleive Israel wouldve used south lebanon to dump
          the rest of the palestinan people there,and I think south Lebanon as we know it today would be the largest refugee
          camp in the world,the israleis relate to some religous text that states what is called a “greater Israel” so I believe
          they would love to control the land from Israel through Lebanon to Syria….

          “Last… If Israel stayed in Lebanon another few years until the Cedar Revolution, and Syria and Israel left at the same time, do you think the 2006 War would have ever happened”

          -When the invasion of 1948 happened what was the pretext for that war,wheter you think its right or wrong,
          there was a pretext for the invasion,so I will say yes on the basis that israel never needed a reason to invade
          any country except the reason it created,and I will say no,cause if the isralies were there from 1982-2005,they
          wouldve established enough lebanese networks and spies and set up basis around the country that there will
          be no need for a war,a war is used when you feel that you cant run a part of the region with the tactics that you
          choose,and when another group or nation decide your tactics are not acceptable than war is brought into the equation
          for one reason,as a form to flex your muscles and say you will do what we want..

          Anyway good questions,I answer these as my own opinions and views,Good Day…

      6. Avatar
        Anonymous

        Thanks for your answers.

        I just want to clear some things us about this idea of “Greater Israel” that keeps getting talked about. Most Israelis don’t favor “greater Israel”, which is why we’ve agreed to every partition of the land that we’ve ever been offered (1936, 1947, 1967, 2000). Also, “Greater Israel” refers only to Israel and the West Bank, and NOT to Lebanon. Many definitions make up greater Israel, but none of them include S. Lebanon.

        The main definition of Greater Israel  is “from Dan to Be’er Sheva”, which ancient cities and are both within our borders today, which means we have no claim on anyone else except the West Bank (which lies in between them). This claim is found in the Biblical verses Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 3:20, 2 Samuel 3:10, 2 Samuel 17:11, 2 Samuel 24:2, 2 Samuel 24:15, 1 Kings 4:25, 1 Chronicles 21:2, and 2 Chronicles 30:5.

        Another controversial definition is that God gave us everything between the river and the sea. Most anti-Zionists claim that it means the Euphrates River, but it only means the Jordan river. The proof is that Moses died on the other side of the Jordan, and is considered to have never entered Israel.

        The proof that S. Lebanon is not included is that Hiram, the King of Tyre, was a ally of David and Solomon. According to the Torah, they were kings in totally equal standing. Being as the Kingdom of Israel reached its greatest height under Solomon, if Tyre was a separate kingdom, then S. Lebanon must not have been part of even the “greatest” Israel. 

        The Bible says that King Hiram allied himself with King David of the United Kingdom of Israel as well as that the status of both Kings was equal and that the treaty between them was a parity treaty (2 Samuel 05:11, 1 Kings 05:01, 1 Chronicles 14:01). After the death of King David, Solomon, a son of David, succeeded to David’s throne and Hiram continued the relation with Israel. They were also equal (“אחי”, meaning “brothers” 1 Kings 9:13, Amos 1:9)

        I also don’t want you to think that by citing the bible, I’m in any way religious. I’m just saying that even in our religious texts, Lebanon is not part of greater Israel. Maybe you can relax a little now.

  3. libnan1 Avatar
    libnan1

    Why did M14 boycott the cabinet? The door was open for all to participate !!!!! 

    1. eblashko Avatar
      eblashko

       Sometimes you can serve the country better by being in the opposition. In their opinion, I imagine they thought it was the responsible thing to do.

  4. libnan1 Avatar
    libnan1

    Why did M14 boycott the cabinet? The door was open for all to participate !!!!! 

  5. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Why did M14 boycott the cabinet? The door was open for all to participate !!!!! 

    1. Avatar
      Anonymous

       Sometimes you can serve the country better by being in the opposition. In their opinion, I imagine they thought it was the responsible thing to do.

  6. In_a_Mosh Avatar
    In_a_Mosh

    I disagree with Geagea’s assessment I’m afraid.

    a- a government is ALWAYS better that no government 
    b- you do not need to be a doctor to run the ministry of health successfully. in fact I don’t ever remember (not in my lifetime) a british health minister who’s a doctor.
    c- the cabinet IS constitutional as there’s nothing in the constitution dictating that sunni representation has to be from beirut.

    basically, mr geagea’s arguments are wrong. having said that, I think there’s a lot wrong with the new government, and I think mr geagea should be highlighting all the failings of the new government with regards to public service and so on. 

    on the other point in the blogs here regarding the crimes committed by lebanese militia/ political leaders, I think that irrespective of the fact that mr geagea has served a prison sentence, he should still be banned from politics in lebanon along with berri, jumblat, nasralla, hariri and most other current leaders as they’ve ALL committed crimes AGAINST LEBANESE people one way or another.

  7. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I disagree with Geagea’s assessment I’m afraid.

    a- a government is ALWAYS better that no government 
    b- you do not need to be a doctor to run the ministry of health successfully. in fact I don’t ever remember (not in my lifetime) a british health minister who’s a doctor.
    c- the cabinet IS constitutional as there’s nothing in the constitution dictating that sunni representation has to be from beirut.

    basically, mr geagea’s arguments are wrong. having said that, I think there’s a lot wrong with the new government, and I think mr geagea should be highlighting all the failings of the new government with regards to public service and so on. 

    on the other point in the blogs here regarding the crimes committed by lebanese militia/ political leaders, I think that irrespective of the fact that mr geagea has served a prison sentence, he should still be banned from politics in lebanon along with berri, jumblat, nasralla, hariri and most other current leaders as they’ve ALL committed crimes AGAINST LEBANESE people one way or another.

  8. In_a_Mosh Avatar
    In_a_Mosh

    I was alive, and was displaced in the 1982 war. I also lost friends and family members to israeli aggression on lebanon. I will try to catch this film and will let you know what I think of it in time.

    although, I’ve heard it said that it was the israelis rather than the palestinians who killed bashir gemayel. obviously i’m not quoting sources other than hear-say on the streets. but my recollection of events (as an 8 year old then), that bashir was killed by his allies when he changed his tune and asked for a 10452m2 free lebanon.

    1. eblashko Avatar
      eblashko

      That’s really cool of you, man. Thanks. I’m really interested to know what you’d think. I think you’ll like the film. It’s my absolute favorite Israeli film of all time. One of the things I like about it is the simple message: War is awful. We f*cked up Lebanon, accomplished nothing, and in the end, we f*cked ourselves up in the process. After recommending it above, I actually couldn’t help myself and watched it again on youtube. I would recommend downloading it from a torrent or something rather than watching it on youtube. It’s really bad quality on youtube and it’s only available dubbed in English, not subtitled (I don’t know if you prefer one or the other, but I’m just saying.

      As far as Gamayal goes, I just looked it up and I guess I was wrong about it being a Palestinian. It was Habib Shartouni, a Maronite Lebanese, but a member of the Syrian National Party. I can imagine the claim that “Israel did it” could pretty much be used any time anything goes wrong in the Arab world (e.g. Assad blames Israel for igniting protests in Syria, while the Syrian street blames Israel for pressuring the US to keep Assad in power). But we liked Gamayel. You’re right that there was a little dispute not about “if” but only about “when” our countries would make peace (we wanted it immediately and he wanted it ease into it not to upset the Lebanese street), but nobody else would have even considered it, so it was important to us to keep him alive. I’d imagine it’s kind of like those Hezbollah supporters nowadays who say it was us who killed Hariri. It’s just another convenient accusation that doesn’t really make much sense.

    2. Elinjaim Avatar
      Elinjaim

      It is proven that Syrian Intelligence killed President Basheer Jumayel.

    3. Beiruti Avatar
      Beiruti

      Shartouni planted the bomb this SSNP guy he was living on the 3rd floor of the Phalange HQ, with the help of Syria. That dog Elie Hobeika who i hope is burning in hell right now, might have had some involvement but it is not sure. 

  9. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I was alive, and was displaced in the 1982 war. I also lost friends and family members to israeli aggression on lebanon. I will try to catch this film and will let you know what I think of it in time.

    although, I’ve heard it said that it was the israelis rather than the palestinians who killed bashir gemayel. obviously i’m not quoting sources other than hear-say on the streets. but my recollection of events (as an 8 year old then), that bashir was killed by his allies when he changed his tune and asked for a 10452m2 free lebanon.

    1. Avatar
      Anonymous

      That’s really cool of you, man. Thanks. I’m really interested to know what you’d think. I think you’ll like the film. It’s my absolute favorite Israeli film of all time. One of the things I like about it is the simple message: War is awful. We f*cked up Lebanon, accomplished nothing, and in the end, we f*cked ourselves up in the process. After recommending it above, I actually couldn’t help myself and watched it again on youtube. I would recommend downloading it from a torrent or something rather than watching it on youtube. It’s really bad quality on youtube and it’s only available dubbed in English, not subtitled.

      As far as Gamayal goes, I just looked it up and I guess I was wrong about it being a Palestinian. It was Habib Shartouni, a Maronite Lebanese, but a member of the Syrian National Party. I can imagine the claim that “Israel did it” could pretty much be used any time anything goes wrong in the Arab world (e.g. Assad blames Israel for igniting protests in Syria, while the Syrian street blames Israel for pressuring the US to keep Assad in power). But we liked Gamayel. You’re right that there was a little dispute not about “if” but only about “when” our countries would make peace (we wanted it immediately and he wanted it ease into it not to upset the Lebanese street), but nobody else would have even considered it, so it was important to us to keep him alive. I’d imagine it’s kind of like those Hezbollah supporters nowadays who say it was us who killed Hariri. It’s just another convenient accusation that doesn’t really make much sense.

    2. Avatar
      Anonymous

      It is proven that Syrian Intelligence killed President Basheer Jumayel.

    3. Avatar
      Anonymous

      Shartouni planted the bomb this SSNP guy he was living on the 3rd floor of the Phalange HQ, with the help of Syria. That dog Elie Hobeika who i hope is burning in hell right now, might have had some involvement but it is not sure. 

  10. Elinjaim Avatar
    Elinjaim

    We agree. This government has returned Syrian control over Lebanon. As per many polls, over 67% of Lebanese do not want Syrian control over Lebanon and 56% don’t want private militia loyal to regional power either. Many Christians who have voted for Aoun in the last election won’t vote for him in the upcoming one.
    Dr. Geagea, please let us give some time for this cabinet to see what strategic policies will take and then say if this cabinet is for us or against Lebanon. Allow this false democracy to work. It is the worst democracy in the world, but much better than dictatorship

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      One COULD have a ‘benevolent dictatorship’ … and maybe people would be happy.
        This is a mess it seems. One day after making up a cabinet, and suddenly everyone has a different opinion about the good and the bad of the government? Stupid !!!  How about simply sitting down and running a country efficiently for a change – for the good of ALL it’s own people. ????  Electricity, water, pollution, economy, jobs – none of that is ‘religious’ in nature. Silence the religious ‘rightists’. Israel is not attacking, and Syria has enough problems trying to keep some of their own people alive at the moment … Lebanon needs to be working and functioning. Prayers won’t get it done, or all all the gloomy bitching either.

    2. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      One COULD have a ‘benevolent dictatorship’ … and maybe people would be happy.
        This is a mess it seems. One day after making up a cabinet, and suddenly everyone has a different opinion about the good and the bad of the government? Stupid !!!  How about simply sitting down and running a country efficiently for a change – for the good of ALL it’s own people. ????  Electricity, water, pollution, economy, jobs – none of that is ‘religious’ in nature. Silence the religious ‘rightists’. Israel is not attacking, and Syria has enough problems trying to keep some of their own people alive at the moment … Lebanon needs to be working and functioning. Prayers won’t get it done, or all all the gloomy bitching either.

  11. Avatar
    Anonymous

    We agree. This government has returned Syrian control over Lebanon. As per many polls, over 67% of Lebanese do not want Syrian control over Lebanon and 56% don’t want private militia loyal to regional power either. Many Christians who have voted for Aoun in the last election won’t vote for him in the upcoming one.
    Dr. Geagea, please let us give some time for this cabinet to see what strategic policies will take and then say if this cabinet is for us or against Lebanon. Allow this false democracy to work. It is the worst democracy in the world, but much better than dictatorship

    1. Avatar
      Anonymous

      One COULD have a ‘benevolent dictatorship’ … and maybe people would be happy.
        This is a mess it seems. One day after making up a cabinet, and suddenly everyone has a different opinion about the good and the bad of the government? Stupid !!!  How about simply sitting down and running a country efficiently for a change – for the good of ALL it’s own people. ????  Electricity, water, pollution, economy, jobs – none of that is ‘religious’ in nature. Silence the religious ‘rightists’. Israel is not attacking, and Syria has enough problems trying to keep some of their own people alive at the moment … Lebanon needs to be working and functioning. Prayers won’t get it done, or all all the gloomy bitching either.

  12. Lebanon1 Avatar
    Lebanon1

    The strategic decision which we TRUE Labanese  should be focusing on is how to become a governing majority in the next election. We should align all our resources for that effort. Any entity we align awrselves with must not fear outside rtaliation or any of the illegal domestic arms.  
    We are all worriors and MUST  fight with all our might for what is right in a peacefull manner. The fear which the opposition has instilled in all of us is an illusion and we have fallen for it.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      A fight does not mean violence as in Libya or Syria.
      The pen is mightier than the sword – The truth shall set you free.
      Etc.
      “Of course truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.” – Mark Twain

  13. Avatar
    Anonymous

    The strategic decision which we TRUE Labanese  should be focusing on is how to become a governing majority in the next election. We should align all our resources for that effort. Any entity we align awrselves with must not fear outside rtaliation or any of the illegal domestic arms.  
    We are all worriors and MUST  fight with all our might for what is right in a peacefull manner. The fear which the opposition has instilled in all of us is an illusion and we have fallen for it.

    1. Avatar
      Anonymous

      A fight does not mean violence as in Libya or Syria.
      The pen is mightier than the sword – The truth shall set you free.
      Etc.
      “Of course truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.” – Mark Twain

  14. PROPHET.T Avatar
    PROPHET.T

    Geagea is a war criminal, and a warlord who has murdered and caused the murder of more Lebanese people than Israel has. Now He wants to lecture Lebanese about democracy and the constitution. What a joke.

    1. Beiruti Avatar
      Beiruti

      Israel murdered over 21,000 people in Lebanon, i dont think Geageas accountability of deaths is even near that.

  15. PROPHET.T Avatar
    PROPHET.T

    Geagea is a war criminal, and a warlord who has murdered and caused the murder of more Lebanese people than Israel has. Now He wants to lecture Lebanese about democracy and the constitution. What a joke.

    1. Avatar
      Anonymous

      Israel murdered over 21,000 people in Lebanon, i dont Geagea accountability of deaths is even near that.

  16. Elinjaim Avatar
    Elinjaim

    During my long years on this earth and several experiences with Jewish lawyers and businessmen, I can
    say without any hesitation that after shaking hands with a Jew please count your fingers to see if any of
    them is missing! Israel isn’t our friend and never will be unless we give them and keep giving them forever.
    They are takers not givers. Give them Jerusalem and they’ll demand the whole Westbank. Give them the whole
    Westbank and they’ll demand whole Lebanon. They love to fight and kill others and we shouldn’t believe for a
    second that Israel wants peace with Arabs. There will be no peace in the Middle East as long as Israel continues
    this behavior. Look at the Israelis and tell me when was the last time they all demonstrated against wars and
    demanded peace with their neighbors? When was the last time they revolted against the extremism of Natinyahu
    and the Westbank Settlers? They are stealing the land peace after peace and in few years the Palestinians in the
    Westbank will be living within the borders of their towns only like living in camps without jobs. We all know that
    Israel’s policy is to suffocate the Arabs and force them to immigrate so Jews can steal their lands. Unless Israel
    proves by actions not by sweet tongues that they want peace with Arabs, we’ll remain their enemies forever.

  17. Elinjaim Avatar
    Elinjaim

    During my long years on this earth and several experiences with Jewish lawyers and businessmen, I can
    say without any hesitation that after shaking hands with a Jew please count your fingers to see if any of
    them is missing! Israel isn’t our friend and never will be unless we give them and keep giving them forever.
    They are takers not givers. Give them Jerusalem and they’ll demand the whole Westbank. Give them the whole
    Westbank and they’ll demand whole Lebanon. They love to fight and kill others and we shouldn’t believe for a
    second that Israel wants peace with Arabs. There will be no peace in the Middle East as long as Israel continues
    this behavior. Look at the Israelis and tell me when was the last time they all demonstrated against wars and
    demanded peace with their neighbors? When was the last time they revolted against the extremism of Natinyahu
    and the Westbank Settlers? They are stealing the land peace after peace and in few years the Palestinians in the
    Westbank will be living within the borders of their towns only like living in camps without jobs. We all know that
    Israel’s policy is to suffocate the Arabs and force them to immigrate so Jews can steal their lands. Unless Israel
    proves by actions not by sweet tongues that they want peace with Arabs, we’ll remain their enemies forever.

  18. Avatar
    Anonymous

    During my long years on this earth and several experiences with Jewish lawyers and businessmen, I can
    say without any hesitation that after shaking hands with a Jew please count your fingers to see if any of
    them is missing! Israel isn’t our friend and never will be unless we give them and keep giving them forever.
    They are takers not givers. Give them Jerusalem and they’ll demand the whole Westbank. Give them the whole
    Westbank and they’ll demand whole Lebanon. They love to fight and kill others and we shouldn’t believe for a
    second that Israel wants peace with Arabs. There will be no peace in the Middle East as long as Israel continues
    this behavior. Look at the Israelis and tell me when was the last time they all demonstrated against wars and
    demanded peace with their neighbors? When was the last time they revolted against the extremism of Natinyahu
    and the Westbank Settlers? They are stealing the land peace after peace and in few years the Palistians in the
    Westbank will be living within the borders of their towns only like living in camps without jobs. We all know that
    Israel’s policy is to suffocate the Arabs and force them to immigrate so Jews can steal their lands. Unless Israel
    proves by actions not by sweet tongues that they want peace with Arabs, we’ll remain their enemies forever.

  19. Constantin7 Avatar
    Constantin7

    Michael, Please stop saying: “Don’t you think if HA was not armed that Israel would be occupying Lebanon?” HA did not exist in the 50s, 60s, 70s and Lebanon militarily was the weakest among all Arab countries and always had water, so why did not the israelis occupy it and took our water resources? I will tell you why: Because Lebanon had European and American friends who cared about Lebanon and its peace. Israel occupied the first time the South because the Palestinians were launching attacks on Israel every now and then, then Israel attacked Lebanon in 2006 thanks to Hassan and his foolish plans of attacking an Israeli patrol and taking soldiers as hostages, while few weeks before his attack Hamas did the same, and still are holding their hostage, and Israel’s reaction was ferocious, something that Hassan should have predicted would happen to Lebanon after his attack on the Israeli soldiers in Israel. So please stop saying that if HA was not armed Israel would be occupying Lebanon. If the Israelis wanted a piece of Lebanon they could have taken it decades ago. I am not trying to defend Israel here, I am just stating facts. Besides, after the 2006 war, HA will NEVER again using any bullet against Israel, so the weapons nowadays in the hands of HA are to steal, rob and intimidate the governemnt and certainly not to defend Lebanon. 

    1. Michael Avatar
      Michael

      Constanin7,
       
      So israel was never planning on attacking Lebanon until HA kidnapped there solidiers?

      is that what your telling me?
       

      1. eblashko Avatar
        eblashko

        Whether or not they were, you’re missing two major points:

        First, nowhere in your post above did anyone claim that the reason for the attack was anything other than to neutralize the Hezbollah threat to Israel. It had nothing to do at all with desire for land or to control Lebanon or anything else.

        Second, as prepared as the IDF might have been, if Hezbollah had not killed and kidnapped our soldiers, there would not have been a reason to start war.

        And also, judging by the language of the report you posted, as well as the sources it cites, it has an OBVIOUS bias.

      2. Constantin7 Avatar
        Constantin7

        Ya Michael, nobody and no country attacks another country without any reason. If Israel was planning to attack Lebanon, guess why ? Because in Lebanon there is a group financed and armed by Iran and Syria whose only mission is to be used in the hands of these 2 nations to put pressure on Israel and the US. If there is nobody armed in Lebanon other than the army and the police, Israel would not make plans to attack Lebanon and would not care about its northern neighbor, and why would it attack Lebanon? If now we are still under the threat of being attacked by Israel, it is because of the HA arms. So these arms in illegal hands are creating a wild card in the hands of Syria and Iran in order to keep Israel on its toes. As long as there is fear from one side or the other of the border there is threat of war, when fear is eliminated there is no threat of war. This fear now is caused by the arms of HA. As simple as that. The armed existence of HA means the constant threat of war. The day HA disarms I bet you in the same year Lebanon will sign a peace treaty with Israel, and finally we will start to be able to plan for the future without the fear of war and the South will become Eden garden of Lebanon.

        1. eblashko Avatar
          eblashko

          amen, brother

      3. master09 Avatar
        master09

        In the last 60 years why did Isreal invade Lebanon  on a number of times?
        I follow no sides and do not follow politics I am asking you this ?? as I got many  different answers. But after this I will do some late night reading for my self as well and I’m sure the facts will be blurryyyy and one sided .

    2. Michael Avatar
      Michael

      Constanin7,

      before blaming everything on hassan read this little blurb i copied and pasted for you:

      In March of 2007 Israeli Prime Minister Olmert admitted to the Winograd Commission that approximately three months before the Lebanon War he gave his permission for the operation by accepting a plan from his then-chief of staff Dan Halutz. Shortly after the kidnapping and in the midst of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Halutz sold off his shares, and in so doing avoided the losses that occurred when the market fell by ten percent as a result of the war that followed. Olmert made his admission to the commission in order to demonstrate that the dramatic loss of the war was not due to ill preparedness .

      Sometimes knowledge over powers hate…good day to you…

      1. Michael Avatar
        Michael

        by Daan de Wit
        Today two dead Israeli soldiers have been returned to Israel by Hezbollah who kidnapped them before the Lebanon war. Their kidnapping was the official reason for the war, but was it also the factual reason?
        On July 12th 2006, Israel invaded Lebanon. The official casus belli were the killings of three members of the Israeli Army by Hezbollah in Israel and the capture of two others. In actuality Israel prepared for the war in advance and waited for the opportunity to present itself in order to justify an attack. Motives such as these keep coming up for both sides in the border area between the two countries. Critic Noam Chomsky recounts a few of the incidents: ‘IDF kidnapping of civilians on June 24, Hamas capture of a soldier the next day, then the huge U.S.-Israeli escalation of attacks on Gaza… then the kidnapping of soldiers by Hezbollah, then the U.S.-Israeli destruction of most of Lebanon, justified by the pretense of outrage over kidnapping, which – to repeat – is demonstrated, conclusively, to be cynical fraud’. While the war was still going on, Israel changed the code name by which military operations were being carried out from Operation Just Cause to Operation Change of Direction.

        In March of 2007 Israeli Prime Minister Olmert admitted to the Winograd Commission that approximately three months before the Lebanon War he gave his permission for the operation by accepting a plan from his then-chief of staff Dan Halutz. Shortly after the kidnapping and in the midst of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Halutz sold off his shares, and in so doing avoided the losses that occurred when the market fell by ten percent as a result of the war that followed. Olmert made his admission to the commission in order to demonstrate that the dramatic loss of the war was not due to ill preparedness .

        In reality, the Lebanon War was even better planned than Prime Minister Olmert would admit to the commission. In January of 2006, four days after succeeding a comatose Ariel Sharon, Olmert held an initial conversation on a war against Lebanon. But it might be correct to look back even further. The war was ‘in a sense’ already being planned back in 2000, right after Israel withdrew troops from Lebanon after being there for 18 years, says Professor Gerald Steinberg of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University. According to Steinberg, a war of about three weeks had been devised by 2004, after which it was simulated and rehearsed. The actual Lebanon War ended up lasting 34 days, resulting in 159 deaths on the Israeli side and 1125 deaths on the Lebanese side, of which hundreds were children. America was made aware of Israeli plans to attack Lebanon. American and other diplomats, journalists and thinktanks were notified approximately one year prior to the war with the help of a PowerPoint presentation, given by a senior Israeli army officer, writes the San Fransisco Chronicle. The meetings in which the plans for war were discussed in detail were held off the record and on the condition that the identity of the officer be kept secret. After the war questions arise whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair was aware of Israeli plans and whether he might not have attempted more in order to avoid bloodshed. Journalist John Kampfner writes under the headline Blood on his hands: ‘I am told that the Israelis informed George W. Bush in advance of their plans to ‘destroy’ Hezbollah by bombing villages in southern Lebanon. The Americans duly informed the British. So Blair knew’. Kampfner’s information is confirmed by an anonymous source from the English Daily Mail which was quoted in August of 2006 and said that Tony Blair was informed of developments concerning Lebanon by the U.S. At the same time the newspaper quotes another source, this one by first and last name – John Pike, director of Global Security: ‘Has the U.S. given Israel a green light to attack Hezbollah and push its troops into southern Lebanon? Yes, of course it has’. According to Pike there is an agreement between Israel and the U.S. that Iranian nuclear plants would eventually have to be bombed – ‘probably next year’ – to stop the development of a nuclear weapon. Pike feels that once that happens, Iran will order Hezbollah to attack Israel. To him this explains the attack on Lebanon in July of 2006. Pike believes that there was a secret agreement between the U.S. and Israel that at some point before the attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities, Hezbollah had to be disarmed and that as soon as a pretext became available, Israel should use force. Just as in the case of Iran, Israeli interests run parallel to those of the United States. This also appears to be the case in a 2003 report from the reputable Jane’s Intelligence Digest that the U.S. was weighing an attack on Hezbollah. And in 2008 a plan was revealed that was not only considered, but was also approved and carried out. Approved by President Bush and realized by his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – a plan to arm the Palestinian party Fatah. The goal was to provoke a Palestinian civil war in which the democratically elected Hamas would be toppled. The result was the complete control of Hamas over the Gaza Strip. The armies of both Israel and Hezbollah were criticized in a report by Human Rights Watch for intentionally killing civilians. During the fighting, Israel dropped up to a million cluster bombs, probably acquired from the world’s biggest producer of this type of explosive, as well as the one that provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid – the United States. ‘We already had a major landmine problem from previous Israeli invasions, but this is far worse’, says Chris Clark of the UN Mine Action Coordination Center, standing before a map filled with flags indicating bomb sites. Cluster bombs were first used by the Nazis and are permitted under international law. In January of 2008 the United States resists proposals for stricter laws relating to cluster bombs and said that the explosives aren’t bad as long as they are used responsibly. In June Defense Secretary Robert Gates states that by 2018 the military will no longer use cluster weapons with a failure rate greater than 1 percent. In the interim period the US will deplete its existing stockpiles of cluster munitions with a greater than 1 percent dud rate by exporting them to foreign governments that agree not to use them starting in 2018. In the bombing of Lebanon, Israel may have made use – as it has done for decades – of American intelligence. In the area of psychological warfare, upwards of 700,000 automated voice mails were delivered to Lebanese citizens in and around the time of the war, and 17 million leaflets were dropped above Lebanon during 47 missions, some of which for example depicted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a snake or a scorpion. Israel also interrupted a Hezbollah TV channel in order to show a dead Hezbollah fighter, accompanied by the message that there will be many more such bodies to come. After the war was over, the Beirut advertising agency Idea Creation launched a $100,000 ad campaign at Hezbollah’s behest called Divine Victory, delivering the message of a military victory over Israel . A Middle East expert familiar with the mindset of both the Israeli and American governments says in August of 2006 to journalist Seymour Hersh that the White House had several reasons for supporting the Israeli attack. The most important was Iran. Another source, the neoconservative Middle East expert Meyrav Wurmser, confims this by saying that the main argument by the White House for supporting Israel was that the war ‘would damage and weaken Hezbollah so that it would pose less of a threat to Israel in the event of an attack on Iran’. Wurmser is employed by the conservative thinktank Hudson Institute and is the wife of David Wurmser, who up until mid-2007 was the Middle East advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney. According to Meyrav Wurmser some of her colleagues are unhappy over what Israel did: ‘The thought in America was that Israel should fight against the real enemy, the one backing Hizbullah. It was obvious that it is impossible to fight directly against Iran , but the thought was that its strategic and important ally Syria should be hit. […] The neocons are responsible for the fact that Israel got a lot of time and space [for the execution of the war]’. Wurmser feels that an attack on Syria would have been a harsh blow to Iran. The great dissatisfaction in the White House – Wurmser even calls it ‘anger’ at Israel – over the loss of the war is focused on the fact that Israel didn’t take the fight to Syria. On 6 September 2007 Israël attacked Syria: Operation Orchard.

        The whole article…called the facts and fictions of 2006 war…. 

  20. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Michael, Please stop saying: “Don’t you think if HA was not armed that Israel would be occupying Lebanon?” HA did not exist in the 50s, 60s, 70s and Lebanon militarily was the weakest among all Arab countries and always had water, so why did not the israelis occupy it and took our water resources? I will tell you why: Because Lebanon had European and American friends who cared about Lebanon and its peace. Israel occupied the first time the South because the Palestinians were launching attacks on Israel every now and then, then Israel attacked Lebanon in 2006 thanks to Hassan and his foolish plans of attacking an Israeli patrol and taking soldiers as hostages, while few weeks before his attack Hamas did the same, and still are holding their hostage, and Israel’s reaction was ferocious, something that Hassan should have predicted would happen to Lebanon after his attack on the Israeli soldiers in Israel. So please stop saying that if HA was not armed Israel would be occupying Lebanon. If the Israelis wanted a piece of Lebanon they could have taken it decades ago. I am not trying to defend Israel here, I am just stating facts. Besides, after the 2006 war, HA will NEVER again using any bullet against Israel, so the weapons nowadays in the hands of HA are to steal, rob and intimidate the governemnt and certainly not to defend Lebanon. 

    1. Michael Avatar
      Michael

      Constanin7,
       
      So israel was never planning on attacking Lebanon until HA kidnapped there solidiers?

      is that what your telling me?
       

      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        Whether or not they were, you’re missing two major points:

        First, nowhere in your post above did anyone claim that the reason for the attack was anything other than to neutralize the Hezbollah threat to Israel. It had nothing to do at all with desire for land or to control Lebanon or anything else.

        Second, as prepared as the IDF might have been, if Hezbollah had not killed and kidnapped our soldiers, there would not have been a reason to start war.

        And also, judging by the language of the report you posted, as well as the sources it cites, it has an OBVIOUS bias.

      2. Avatar
        Anonymous

        Ya Michael, nobody and no country attacks another country without any reason. If Israel was planning to attack Lebanon, guess why ? Because in Lebanon there is a group financed and armed by Iran and Syria whose only mission is to be used in the hands of these 2 nations to put pressure on Israel and the US. If there is nobody armed in Lebanon other than the army and the police, Israel would not make plans to attack Lebanon and would not care about its northern neighbor, and why would it attack Lebanon? If now we are still under the threat of being attacked by Israel, it is because of the HA arms. So these arms in illegal hands are creating a wild card in the hands of Syria and Iran in order to keep Israel on its toes. As long as there is fear from one side or the other of the border there is threat of war, when fear is eliminated there is no threat of war. This fear now is caused by the arms of HA. As simple as that. The armed existence of HA means the constant threat of war. The day HA disarms I bet you in the same year Lebanon will sign a peace treaty with Israel, and finally we will start to be able to plan for the future without the fear of war and the South will become Eden garden of Lebanon.

        1. Avatar
          Anonymous

          amen, brother

      3. Avatar
        Anonymous

        In the last 60 years why did Isreal invade Lebanon  on a number of times?
        I follow no sides and do not follow politics I am asking you this ?? as I got many  different answers. But after this I will do some late night reading for my self as well and I’m sure the facts will be blurryyyy and one sided .

    2. Michael Avatar
      Michael

      Constanin7,

      before blaming everything on hassan read this little blurb i copied and pasted for you:

      In March of 2007 Israeli Prime Minister Olmert admitted to the Winograd Commission that approximately three months before the Lebanon War he gave his permission for the operation by accepting a plan from his then-chief of staff Dan Halutz. Shortly after the kidnapping and in the midst of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Halutz sold off his shares, and in so doing avoided the losses that occurred when the market fell by ten percent as a result of the war that followed. Olmert made his admission to the commission in order to demonstrate that the dramatic loss of the war was not due to ill preparedness .

      Sometimes knowledge over powers hate…good day to you…

      1. Michael Avatar
        Michael

        by Daan de Wit
        Today two dead Israeli soldiers have been returned to Israel by Hezbollah who kidnapped them before the Lebanon war. Their kidnapping was the official reason for the war, but was it also the factual reason?
        On July 12th 2006, Israel invaded Lebanon. The official casus belli were the killings of three members of the Israeli Army by Hezbollah in Israel and the capture of two others. In actuality Israel prepared for the war in advance and waited for the opportunity to present itself in order to justify an attack. Motives such as these keep coming up for both sides in the border area between the two countries. Critic Noam Chomsky recounts a few of the incidents: ‘IDF kidnapping of civilians on June 24, Hamas capture of a soldier the next day, then the huge U.S.-Israeli escalation of attacks on Gaza… then the kidnapping of soldiers by Hezbollah, then the U.S.-Israeli destruction of most of Lebanon, justified by the pretense of outrage over kidnapping, which – to repeat – is demonstrated, conclusively, to be cynical fraud’. While the war was still going on, Israel changed the code name by which military operations were being carried out from Operation Just Cause to Operation Change of Direction.

        In March of 2007 Israeli Prime Minister Olmert admitted to the Winograd Commission that approximately three months before the Lebanon War he gave his permission for the operation by accepting a plan from his then-chief of staff Dan Halutz. Shortly after the kidnapping and in the midst of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Halutz sold off his shares, and in so doing avoided the losses that occurred when the market fell by ten percent as a result of the war that followed. Olmert made his admission to the commission in order to demonstrate that the dramatic loss of the war was not due to ill preparedness .

        In reality, the Lebanon War was even better planned than Prime Minister Olmert would admit to the commission. In January of 2006, four days after succeeding a comatose Ariel Sharon, Olmert held an initial conversation on a war against Lebanon. But it might be correct to look back even further. The war was ‘in a sense’ already being planned back in 2000, right after Israel withdrew troops from Lebanon after being there for 18 years, says Professor Gerald Steinberg of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University. According to Steinberg, a war of about three weeks had been devised by 2004, after which it was simulated and rehearsed. The actual Lebanon War ended up lasting 34 days, resulting in 159 deaths on the Israeli side and 1125 deaths on the Lebanese side, of which hundreds were children. America was made aware of Israeli plans to attack Lebanon. American and other diplomats, journalists and thinktanks were notified approximately one year prior to the war with the help of a PowerPoint presentation, given by a senior Israeli army officer, writes the San Fransisco Chronicle. The meetings in which the plans for war were discussed in detail were held off the record and on the condition that the identity of the officer be kept secret. After the war questions arise whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair was aware of Israeli plans and whether he might not have attempted more in order to avoid bloodshed. Journalist John Kampfner writes under the headline Blood on his hands: ‘I am told that the Israelis informed George W. Bush in advance of their plans to ‘destroy’ Hezbollah by bombing villages in southern Lebanon. The Americans duly informed the British. So Blair knew’. Kampfner’s information is confirmed by an anonymous source from the English Daily Mail which was quoted in August of 2006 and said that Tony Blair was informed of developments concerning Lebanon by the U.S. At the same time the newspaper quotes another source, this one by first and last name – John Pike, director of Global Security: ‘Has the U.S. given Israel a green light to attack Hezbollah and push its troops into southern Lebanon? Yes, of course it has’. According to Pike there is an agreement between Israel and the U.S. that Iranian nuclear plants would eventually have to be bombed – ‘probably next year’ – to stop the development of a nuclear weapon. Pike feels that once that happens, Iran will order Hezbollah to attack Israel. To him this explains the attack on Lebanon in July of 2006. Pike believes that there was a secret agreement between the U.S. and Israel that at some point before the attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities, Hezbollah had to be disarmed and that as soon as a pretext became available, Israel should use force. Just as in the case of Iran, Israeli interests run parallel to those of the United States. This also appears to be the case in a 2003 report from the reputable Jane’s Intelligence Digest that the U.S. was weighing an attack on Hezbollah. And in 2008 a plan was revealed that was not only considered, but was also approved and carried out. Approved by President Bush and realized by his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – a plan to arm the Palestinian party Fatah. The goal was to provoke a Palestinian civil war in which the democratically elected Hamas would be toppled. The result was the complete control of Hamas over the Gaza Strip. The armies of both Israel and Hezbollah were criticized in a report by Human Rights Watch for intentionally killing civilians. During the fighting, Israel dropped up to a million cluster bombs, probably acquired from the world’s biggest producer of this type of explosive, as well as the one that provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid – the United States. ‘We already had a major landmine problem from previous Israeli invasions, but this is far worse’, says Chris Clark of the UN Mine Action Coordination Center, standing before a map filled with flags indicating bomb sites. Cluster bombs were first used by the Nazis and are permitted under international law. In January of 2008 the United States resists proposals for stricter laws relating to cluster bombs and said that the explosives aren’t bad as long as they are used responsibly. In June Defense Secretary Robert Gates states that by 2018 the military will no longer use cluster weapons with a failure rate greater than 1 percent. In the interim period the US will deplete its existing stockpiles of cluster munitions with a greater than 1 percent dud rate by exporting them to foreign governments that agree not to use them starting in 2018. In the bombing of Lebanon, Israel may have made use – as it has done for decades – of American intelligence. In the area of psychological warfare, upwards of 700,000 automated voice mails were delivered to Lebanese citizens in and around the time of the war, and 17 million leaflets were dropped above Lebanon during 47 missions, some of which for example depicted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a snake or a scorpion. Israel also interrupted a Hezbollah TV channel in order to show a dead Hezbollah fighter, accompanied by the message that there will be many more such bodies to come. After the war was over, the Beirut advertising agency Idea Creation launched a $100,000 ad campaign at Hezbollah’s behest called Divine Victory, delivering the message of a military victory over Israel . A Middle East expert familiar with the mindset of both the Israeli and American governments says in August of 2006 to journalist Seymour Hersh that the White House had several reasons for supporting the Israeli attack. The most important was Iran. Another source, the neoconservative Middle East expert Meyrav Wurmser, confims this by saying that the main argument by the White House for supporting Israel was that the war ‘would damage and weaken Hezbollah so that it would pose less of a threat to Israel in the event of an attack on Iran’. Wurmser is employed by the conservative thinktank Hudson Institute and is the wife of David Wurmser, who up until mid-2007 was the Middle East advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney. According to Meyrav Wurmser some of her colleagues are unhappy over what Israel did: ‘The thought in America was that Israel should fight against the real enemy, the one backing Hizbullah. It was obvious that it is impossible to fight directly against Iran , but the thought was that its strategic and important ally Syria should be hit. […] The neocons are responsible for the fact that Israel got a lot of time and space [for the execution of the war]’. Wurmser feels that an attack on Syria would have been a harsh blow to Iran. The great dissatisfaction in the White House – Wurmser even calls it ‘anger’ at Israel – over the loss of the war is focused on the fact that Israel didn’t take the fight to Syria. On 6 September 2007 Israël attacked Syria: Operation Orchard.

        The whole article…called the facts and fictions of 2006 war…. 

      2. Michael Avatar
        Michael

        by Daan de Wit
        Today two dead Israeli soldiers have been returned to Israel by Hezbollah who kidnapped them before the Lebanon war. Their kidnapping was the official reason for the war, but was it also the factual reason?
        On July 12th 2006, Israel invaded Lebanon. The official casus belli were the killings of three members of the Israeli Army by Hezbollah in Israel and the capture of two others. In actuality Israel prepared for the war in advance and waited for the opportunity to present itself in order to justify an attack. Motives such as these keep coming up for both sides in the border area between the two countries. Critic Noam Chomsky recounts a few of the incidents: ‘IDF kidnapping of civilians on June 24, Hamas capture of a soldier the next day, then the huge U.S.-Israeli escalation of attacks on Gaza… then the kidnapping of soldiers by Hezbollah, then the U.S.-Israeli destruction of most of Lebanon, justified by the pretense of outrage over kidnapping, which – to repeat – is demonstrated, conclusively, to be cynical fraud’. While the war was still going on, Israel changed the code name by which military operations were being carried out from Operation Just Cause to Operation Change of Direction.

        In March of 2007 Israeli Prime Minister Olmert admitted to the Winograd Commission that approximately three months before the Lebanon War he gave his permission for the operation by accepting a plan from his then-chief of staff Dan Halutz. Shortly after the kidnapping and in the midst of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Halutz sold off his shares, and in so doing avoided the losses that occurred when the market fell by ten percent as a result of the war that followed. Olmert made his admission to the commission in order to demonstrate that the dramatic loss of the war was not due to ill preparedness .

        In reality, the Lebanon War was even better planned than Prime Minister Olmert would admit to the commission. In January of 2006, four days after succeeding a comatose Ariel Sharon, Olmert held an initial conversation on a war against Lebanon. But it might be correct to look back even further. The war was ‘in a sense’ already being planned back in 2000, right after Israel withdrew troops from Lebanon after being there for 18 years, says Professor Gerald Steinberg of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University. According to Steinberg, a war of about three weeks had been devised by 2004, after which it was simulated and rehearsed. The actual Lebanon War ended up lasting 34 days, resulting in 159 deaths on the Israeli side and 1125 deaths on the Lebanese side, of which hundreds were children. America was made aware of Israeli plans to attack Lebanon. American and other diplomats, journalists and thinktanks were notified approximately one year prior to the war with the help of a PowerPoint presentation, given by a senior Israeli army officer, writes the San Fransisco Chronicle. The meetings in which the plans for war were discussed in detail were held off the record and on the condition that the identity of the officer be kept secret. After the war questions arise whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair was aware of Israeli plans and whether he might not have attempted more in order to avoid bloodshed. Journalist John Kampfner writes under the headline Blood on his hands: ‘I am told that the Israelis informed George W. Bush in advance of their plans to ‘destroy’ Hezbollah by bombing villages in southern Lebanon. The Americans duly informed the British. So Blair knew’. Kampfner’s information is confirmed by an anonymous source from the English Daily Mail which was quoted in August of 2006 and said that Tony Blair was informed of developments concerning Lebanon by the U.S. At the same time the newspaper quotes another source, this one by first and last name – John Pike, director of Global Security: ‘Has the U.S. given Israel a green light to attack Hezbollah and push its troops into southern Lebanon? Yes, of course it has’. According to Pike there is an agreement between Israel and the U.S. that Iranian nuclear plants would eventually have to be bombed – ‘probably next year’ – to stop the development of a nuclear weapon. Pike feels that once that happens, Iran will order Hezbollah to attack Israel. To him this explains the attack on Lebanon in July of 2006. Pike believes that there was a secret agreement between the U.S. and Israel that at some point before the attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities, Hezbollah had to be disarmed and that as soon as a pretext became available, Israel should use force. Just as in the case of Iran, Israeli interests run parallel to those of the United States. This also appears to be the case in a 2003 report from the reputable Jane’s Intelligence Digest that the U.S. was weighing an attack on Hezbollah. And in 2008 a plan was revealed that was not only considered, but was also approved and carried out. Approved by President Bush and realized by his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – a plan to arm the Palestinian party Fatah. The goal was to provoke a Palestinian civil war in which the democratically elected Hamas would be toppled. The result was the complete control of Hamas over the Gaza Strip. The armies of both Israel and Hezbollah were criticized in a report by Human Rights Watch for intentionally killing civilians. During the fighting, Israel dropped up to a million cluster bombs, probably acquired from the world’s biggest producer of this type of explosive, as well as the one that provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid – the United States. ‘We already had a major landmine problem from previous Israeli invasions, but this is far worse’, says Chris Clark of the UN Mine Action Coordination Center, standing before a map filled with flags indicating bomb sites. Cluster bombs were first used by the Nazis and are permitted under international law. In January of 2008 the United States resists proposals for stricter laws relating to cluster bombs and said that the explosives aren’t bad as long as they are used responsibly. In June Defense Secretary Robert Gates states that by 2018 the military will no longer use cluster weapons with a failure rate greater than 1 percent. In the interim period the US will deplete its existing stockpiles of cluster munitions with a greater than 1 percent dud rate by exporting them to foreign governments that agree not to use them starting in 2018. In the bombing of Lebanon, Israel may have made use – as it has done for decades – of American intelligence. In the area of psychological warfare, upwards of 700,000 automated voice mails were delivered to Lebanese citizens in and around the time of the war, and 17 million leaflets were dropped above Lebanon during 47 missions, some of which for example depicted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a snake or a scorpion. Israel also interrupted a Hezbollah TV channel in order to show a dead Hezbollah fighter, accompanied by the message that there will be many more such bodies to come. After the war was over, the Beirut advertising agency Idea Creation launched a $100,000 ad campaign at Hezbollah’s behest called Divine Victory, delivering the message of a military victory over Israel . A Middle East expert familiar with the mindset of both the Israeli and American governments says in August of 2006 to journalist Seymour Hersh that the White House had several reasons for supporting the Israeli attack. The most important was Iran. Another source, the neoconservative Middle East expert Meyrav Wurmser, confims this by saying that the main argument by the White House for supporting Israel was that the war ‘would damage and weaken Hezbollah so that it would pose less of a threat to Israel in the event of an attack on Iran’. Wurmser is employed by the conservative thinktank Hudson Institute and is the wife of David Wurmser, who up until mid-2007 was the Middle East advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney. According to Meyrav Wurmser some of her colleagues are unhappy over what Israel did: ‘The thought in America was that Israel should fight against the real enemy, the one backing Hizbullah. It was obvious that it is impossible to fight directly against Iran , but the thought was that its strategic and important ally Syria should be hit. […] The neocons are responsible for the fact that Israel got a lot of time and space [for the execution of the war]’. Wurmser feels that an attack on Syria would have been a harsh blow to Iran. The great dissatisfaction in the White House – Wurmser even calls it ‘anger’ at Israel – over the loss of the war is focused on the fact that Israel didn’t take the fight to Syria. On 6 September 2007 Israël attacked Syria: Operation Orchard.

        The whole article…called the facts and fictions of 2006 war…. 

      3. Michael Avatar
        Michael

        by Daan de Wit
        Today two dead Israeli soldiers have been returned to Israel by Hezbollah who kidnapped them before the Lebanon war. Their kidnapping was the official reason for the war, but was it also the factual reason?
        On July 12th 2006, Israel invaded Lebanon. The official casus belli were the killings of three members of the Israeli Army by Hezbollah in Israel and the capture of two others. In actuality Israel prepared for the war in advance and waited for the opportunity to present itself in order to justify an attack. Motives such as these keep coming up for both sides in the border area between the two countries. Critic Noam Chomsky recounts a few of the incidents: ‘IDF kidnapping of civilians on June 24, Hamas capture of a soldier the next day, then the huge U.S.-Israeli escalation of attacks on Gaza… then the kidnapping of soldiers by Hezbollah, then the U.S.-Israeli destruction of most of Lebanon, justified by the pretense of outrage over kidnapping, which – to repeat – is demonstrated, conclusively, to be cynical fraud’. While the war was still going on, Israel changed the code name by which military operations were being carried out from Operation Just Cause to Operation Change of Direction.

        In March of 2007 Israeli Prime Minister Olmert admitted to the Winograd Commission that approximately three months before the Lebanon War he gave his permission for the operation by accepting a plan from his then-chief of staff Dan Halutz. Shortly after the kidnapping and in the midst of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Halutz sold off his shares, and in so doing avoided the losses that occurred when the market fell by ten percent as a result of the war that followed. Olmert made his admission to the commission in order to demonstrate that the dramatic loss of the war was not due to ill preparedness .

        In reality, the Lebanon War was even better planned than Prime Minister Olmert would admit to the commission. In January of 2006, four days after succeeding a comatose Ariel Sharon, Olmert held an initial conversation on a war against Lebanon. But it might be correct to look back even further. The war was ‘in a sense’ already being planned back in 2000, right after Israel withdrew troops from Lebanon after being there for 18 years, says Professor Gerald Steinberg of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University. According to Steinberg, a war of about three weeks had been devised by 2004, after which it was simulated and rehearsed. The actual Lebanon War ended up lasting 34 days, resulting in 159 deaths on the Israeli side and 1125 deaths on the Lebanese side, of which hundreds were children. America was made aware of Israeli plans to attack Lebanon. American and other diplomats, journalists and thinktanks were notified approximately one year prior to the war with the help of a PowerPoint presentation, given by a senior Israeli army officer, writes the San Fransisco Chronicle. The meetings in which the plans for war were discussed in detail were held off the record and on the condition that the identity of the officer be kept secret. After the war questions arise whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair was aware of Israeli plans and whether he might not have attempted more in order to avoid bloodshed. Journalist John Kampfner writes under the headline Blood on his hands: ‘I am told that the Israelis informed George W. Bush in advance of their plans to ‘destroy’ Hezbollah by bombing villages in southern Lebanon. The Americans duly informed the British. So Blair knew’. Kampfner’s information is confirmed by an anonymous source from the English Daily Mail which was quoted in August of 2006 and said that Tony Blair was informed of developments concerning Lebanon by the U.S. At the same time the newspaper quotes another source, this one by first and last name – John Pike, director of Global Security: ‘Has the U.S. given Israel a green light to attack Hezbollah and push its troops into southern Lebanon? Yes, of course it has’. According to Pike there is an agreement between Israel and the U.S. that Iranian nuclear plants would eventually have to be bombed – ‘probably next year’ – to stop the development of a nuclear weapon. Pike feels that once that happens, Iran will order Hezbollah to attack Israel. To him this explains the attack on Lebanon in July of 2006. Pike believes that there was a secret agreement between the U.S. and Israel that at some point before the attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities, Hezbollah had to be disarmed and that as soon as a pretext became available, Israel should use force. Just as in the case of Iran, Israeli interests run parallel to those of the United States. This also appears to be the case in a 2003 report from the reputable Jane’s Intelligence Digest that the U.S. was weighing an attack on Hezbollah. And in 2008 a plan was revealed that was not only considered, but was also approved and carried out. Approved by President Bush and realized by his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – a plan to arm the Palestinian party Fatah. The goal was to provoke a Palestinian civil war in which the democratically elected Hamas would be toppled. The result was the complete control of Hamas over the Gaza Strip. The armies of both Israel and Hezbollah were criticized in a report by Human Rights Watch for intentionally killing civilians. During the fighting, Israel dropped up to a million cluster bombs, probably acquired from the world’s biggest producer of this type of explosive, as well as the one that provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid – the United States. ‘We already had a major landmine problem from previous Israeli invasions, but this is far worse’, says Chris Clark of the UN Mine Action Coordination Center, standing before a map filled with flags indicating bomb sites. Cluster bombs were first used by the Nazis and are permitted under international law. In January of 2008 the United States resists proposals for stricter laws relating to cluster bombs and said that the explosives aren’t bad as long as they are used responsibly. In June Defense Secretary Robert Gates states that by 2018 the military will no longer use cluster weapons with a failure rate greater than 1 percent. In the interim period the US will deplete its existing stockpiles of cluster munitions with a greater than 1 percent dud rate by exporting them to foreign governments that agree not to use them starting in 2018. In the bombing of Lebanon, Israel may have made use – as it has done for decades – of American intelligence. In the area of psychological warfare, upwards of 700,000 automated voice mails were delivered to Lebanese citizens in and around the time of the war, and 17 million leaflets were dropped above Lebanon during 47 missions, some of which for example depicted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a snake or a scorpion. Israel also interrupted a Hezbollah TV channel in order to show a dead Hezbollah fighter, accompanied by the message that there will be many more such bodies to come. After the war was over, the Beirut advertising agency Idea Creation launched a $100,000 ad campaign at Hezbollah’s behest called Divine Victory, delivering the message of a military victory over Israel . A Middle East expert familiar with the mindset of both the Israeli and American governments says in August of 2006 to journalist Seymour Hersh that the White House had several reasons for supporting the Israeli attack. The most important was Iran. Another source, the neoconservative Middle East expert Meyrav Wurmser, confims this by saying that the main argument by the White House for supporting Israel was that the war ‘would damage and weaken Hezbollah so that it would pose less of a threat to Israel in the event of an attack on Iran’. Wurmser is employed by the conservative thinktank Hudson Institute and is the wife of David Wurmser, who up until mid-2007 was the Middle East advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney. According to Meyrav Wurmser some of her colleagues are unhappy over what Israel did: ‘The thought in America was that Israel should fight against the real enemy, the one backing Hizbullah. It was obvious that it is impossible to fight directly against Iran , but the thought was that its strategic and important ally Syria should be hit. […] The neocons are responsible for the fact that Israel got a lot of time and space [for the execution of the war]’. Wurmser feels that an attack on Syria would have been a harsh blow to Iran. The great dissatisfaction in the White House – Wurmser even calls it ‘anger’ at Israel – over the loss of the war is focused on the fact that Israel didn’t take the fight to Syria. On 6 September 2007 Israël attacked Syria: Operation Orchard.

        The whole article…called the facts and fictions of 2006 war…. 

  21. Constantin7 Avatar
    Constantin7

    As for the comment of Mr. Geagea, although I am a pro March14 guy, I would tell all these politicians of March14, including Geagea, please give us a break. You did not want to participate in the government and you told Mikati to form a one color government, i.e. a pro-Syria one (we knew that in advance) and now that the government is formed you come and tell us that it would be better that Lebanon be without a government than with such a government. If you don’t want to govern so let the others govern, period. Let us see what they can do now that we have a homogeneous government, unlike the government that Hariri formed it was doomed to fail with contradictory parties within the same government. In any case, I predict that even this government will not be successful, especially if the Syrian regime falls, this government will follow soon and fall. I advise the March14 team to be an excellent opposition and watch the government and its conduct like a hawk and comment on their conduct. Otherwise, let the Lebanese have a governement….

    1. kamille1 Avatar
      kamille1

      well said constantin..thats what march 14 should have done when they had the majority..they won the elections and it’s only fair that they should have governed alone..but our leaders have no guts..

    2. kamille1 Avatar
      kamille1

      well said constantin..thats what march 14 should have done when they had the majority..they won the elections and it’s only fair that they should have governed alone..but our leaders have no guts..

  22. Avatar
    Anonymous

    As for the comment of Mr. Geagea, although I am a pro March14 guy, I would tell all these politicians of March14, including Geagea, please give us a break. You did not want to participate in the government and you told Mikati to form a one color government, i.e. a pro-Syria one (we knew that in advance) and now that the government is formed you come and tell us that it would be better that Lebanon be without a government than with such a government. If you don’t want to govern so let the others govern, period. Let us see what they can do now that we have a homogeneous government, unlike the government that Hariri formed it was doomed to fail with contradictory parties within the same government. In any case, I predict that even this government will not be successful, especially if the Syrian regime falls, this government will follow soon and fall. I advise the March14 team to be an excellent opposition and watch the government and its conduct like a hawk and comment on their conduct. Otherwise, let the Lebanese have a governement….

    1. Avatar
      Anonymous

      well said constantin..thats what march 14 should have done when they had the majority..they won the elections and it’s only fair that they should have governed alone..but our leaders have no guts..

    2. Avatar
      Anonymous

      well said constantin..thats what march 14 should have done when they had the majority..they won the elections and it’s only fair that they should have governed alone..but our leaders have no guts..

  23. PROPHET.T Avatar
    PROPHET.T

    Yalibnan,
     I wonder why  my  comments  have been  removed?

  24. PROPHET.T Avatar
    PROPHET.T

    Yalibnan,
     I wonder why  my  comments  have been  removed?

  25. Fadi81 Avatar
    Fadi81

    Spoken like a true patriot as ALWAYS! If anyone in Lebanon can be counted on it is Dr Samir Geagea, his tune will not change nor will his unwavering dedication to our great nation!  I support the LF and all other sensible parties that will lead Lebanon forward into the future!

    Great men are made by their love for their Great Nation.

    God Bless Dr Samir GeaGea! God Bless Lebanon!

  26. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Spoken like a true patriot as ALWAYS! If anyone in Lebanon can be counted on it is Dr Samir Geagea, his tune will not change nor will his unwavering dedication to our great nation!  I support the LF and all other sensible parties that will lead Lebanon forward into the future!

    Great men are made by their love for their Great Nation.

    God Bless Dr Samir GeaGea! God Bless Lebanon!

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